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Death at 67m

07/11/13(Thu)04:14

This happened on 29 of October in the Netherlands (near Ooltgensplaat to be more precise).

A crew of four was conducting routine maintenance to the 67 meter high turbine. They were in a gondola next to the turbine when a fire broke out. The fire quickly engulfed the only escape route (the stairs in the shaft), trapping two of the maintenance crew on top of the turbine. One of them jumped down and was found in a field next to the turbine. The other victim was found by a special firefighter team that ascended the turbine when the fire died down a bit. The cause of the fire is unknown, but is believed to be a short circuit.

Firefighters are fairly powerless to do anything to fight fires on wind turbines, and due to high costs maintenance crews have limited means and training to escape an emergency situation.

The tragedy near Ooltgensplaat has lead to a political inquiry into safety precautions for wind turbine maintenance crews.

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09/11/13(Sat)23:37

Comment No.25931

you use the hatch facing the wind, thus the fire won't catch the rope..

09/11/13(Sat)19:59

Comment No.25925

Let's hope the ropes don't catch fire.

09/11/13(Sat)19:03

Comment No.25924

American Wind Turbine technician: All the training I have done is geared towards this kind of thing; a Constant Rate Descender is in the nacelle of all turbines with a hatch that allows you to jump out of the hatch and the CRD will slow your fall to around 2m/s.

http://youtu.be/qVhS0m1_X9g

09/11/13(Sat)13:51

Comment No.25916

I don't know how often these things catch on fire and I don't know if there might be a number of reasons for one to do so...worn bearings, wiring, improper lubrication, etc..Normal wear and tear on any machinery is expected and sometimes it fails. Building something like this for the job it has to do and expecting it to never fail might be a pipe dream. I saw a video last week where one of the propeller blades came loose, chopped the superstructure in half and the whole damn thing went crashing to the ground. Metal fatigue. Engineers can't plan everything when the plans leave the drawing board and these windmills are still relative new to the world. They're learning but things like this will happen no matter what is done to make them safe.

09/11/13(Sat)11:44

Comment No.25915

it's sad that the big companies are too greedy and cheap out on safety, only when the government enforces a law they'll give in. At least that's how it's goes in the Netherlands. I hope they charge the company with death by negligence (but I know they won't)

08/11/13(Fri)13:36

Comment No.25905

Sound like a very unusual incident. I wouldn't have expected much electricity to be present when the device was being serviced. Very sad.
>>25900 That idea is pure genius and should be adopted for future devices.

07/11/13(Thu)11:26

Comment No.25900

This is a tragedy that could be averted IF the industry would change to a newer technology that's already on the market. There's a company (read about it a year ago) that uses a hydraulic pump directly behind the propeller and transfers the circulating fluid to a generator on the ground. 100% of servicing is on the ground. This method (shown) is so entrenched in the power-producing industry they have no desire to buy the equipment or re-tool. What a shame.

07/11/13(Thu)04:16

Comment No.25899

81.5

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RIP

07/11/13(Thu)04:14

Comment No.25898

18.7

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hJeaPzDnOE#t=30

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