Fire extinguished at OUC’s Stanton Energy power plant

A fire on the main generator floor of Orlando Utilities Commission Stanton Energy Center in east Orange County on Saturday night resulted in one of two generators shutting down but no injuries, said utility spokesman Tim Trudell.

Trudell said the blaze was extinguished by Orange County’s fire department. “We are thankful nobody was hurt and thankful for a quick response,” he said.

Orange County Fire and Rescue active calls website showed 19 units responding to the fire, which was identified as “confirmed structure fire” at the OUC plant on 5100 S. Alafaya Trail at 8:09 p.m.

Orange County Sheriff ’s Office also responded to the fire at 8:12 p.m., according to its dispatched calls website.

The sprawling plant site is in an isolated area at the south end of Alafaya Trail. It is a heavily industrialized site, with massive equipment. The generators are 1.5 miles from the nearest homes and about 1.3 miles from a state prison facility.

Trudell said Stanton Unit 1 remains off line because of the fire and that no cause has been determined.

Trudell said OUC has sufficient generation capacity and that there is little risk of outages or power shortages. The two, coal-burning power plants are matched by a pair of generators that burn natural gas at the Stanton center, which is where OUC produces the bulk of its electricity.

Housed inside a vast industrial room, the main generator floor abuts the pair of towering steam-producing boilers that are fueled with coal. The generator floor houses a series of steam turbines that are shrouded in walls of heavy steel.