No injuries in fire at Kemper County plant

No one was injured after a fire broke out at a structure at the Kemper County plant early Wednesday morning, officials said. 

Kemper County Sheriff James Moore said his department responded to the fire just before 3 a.m. Wednesday, and fire departments finished extinguishing it at about 9 a.m.

Moore said the fire was in a gasifier, which is a structure meant to convert coal into gases.

He said the fire was large enough that it was more than Kemper County firefighters could manage. They received assistance from the Philadelphia and Meridian fire departments, which brought in ladder trucks.

Kaila Moran Griffith, a Mississippi Power spokeswoman, said there was a minor fire at the facility and there were no injuries. 

“While removing nonoperating pumps, heat got onto debris inside the equipment,” said Bruce Harrington, Plant Ratcliffe manager, in a statement. “We appreciate the professional and quick response of the emergency management.”

Mississippi Power planned to conduct coal gasification at the facility, but decided in 2017 to turn the plant into a natural gas facility.  

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