Coal fire at power plant

MARQUETTE — Just after 4:25 a.m. Tuesday, the Marquette City Fire Department responded to a coal bunker fire at the Presque Isle Power Plant on Lakeshore Boulevard.

Two fire trucks and six firefighters initially responded to the call. A second alarm dispatched an additional five firefighters to the scene. A spokesperson from We Energies said the fire department worked with the plant to extinguish smoldering coal in a coal storage compartment in one of their generating units.

“We have safety measures that are in place at the plant that alert us when it gets a little bit warm, and that was all followed this morning,” said We Energies spokesperson Amy Jahns. “Everything was operated properly and there were no injuries with this smoldering coal issue.”

The fire department was released around 10:00 a.m., and Jahns said the situation was under control well before that time. We Energies has been investigating what happened, but the cause of the fire is currently undetermined. The Presque Isle Power Plant continues to operate and is meeting all of the power needs of We Energies customers.