Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 09/05) - A diesel generator caught fire Monday afternoon at the Jackfish power plant, causing a 45-minute blackout in downtown Yellowknife.

Fire officials believe the blaze started when oil leaked from a diesel-powered generator onto a heated exhaust vent around 5 p.m.

Automatic sensors alerted workers who stopped the flow of fuel, said deputy fire chief Chucker Dewar, and limited any chance of a large explosion.

Power plant staff doused the blaze with hand-held fire extinguishers and firefighters arrived on the scene a few minutes later to find it under control, said Dewar.

The Northwest Territories Power Corp., was criticized last year for slashing staff at the diesel plant. A former employee said the cutbacks caused a 13,000-litre fuel spill to go unnoticed for about 12 hours.

Power Corp. spokesperson Chris Zorica did not know how many workers were at the plant Monday evening, but said staff levels were not a factor in the fire.

"The safety systems worked as they were supposed to work," he said.

There was no damage estimate and Zorica was not sure how long the generator, one of three at Jackfish, would be out of action.