Fire crews were called to the site on Stranglands Lane, Ferrybridge at around 13:57 hours today. The Incident which could be seen from miles away saw flames shooting the height on the 4 storey building on the site.
Ten fire engines were sent, which included firefighters from the surrounding stations of Pontefract, Normanton, Featherstone, Castleford and Wakefield.
The third floor of a four-storey building was alight. Firefighters used five ground monitors and three aerial appliances to tackle the fire.
Part of the building has collapsed and firefighters feared that the whole structure could come down as it became more and more unstable.
The fire appeared to be under control at one stage, but then developed again on the top floor. Further appliances were requested increasing the number of pumps to 15. A specialist foam unit from Hunslet station and Hose Layer from Mirfield also attended
A spokeswoman for SSE, which runs the power station, said: “At around 2pm today a serious incident occurred at SSE’s Ferrybridge C power station in West Yorkshire.
The company’s practiced emergency response procedures have been activated. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service are in attendance and dealing with the incident with assistance from expert engineers on site. All personnel have been accounted for and no injuries have been reported at this stage.
Police sealed off nearby roads and walkways around the site but no homes were evacuated due to the fire.
National Grid said the power station was on summer shutdown and had not been generating electricity.
According to the SSE website it has two 198m-high (650ft) chimneys and eight 115m-high cooling towers, which are the largest of their kind in Europe.
A multi-fuel energy plant is currently being built alongside the power station. It is due to start operating next summer and will be run by Multifuel Energy, a joint venture between SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies.
Thick clouds of black smoke drifted across the nearby M62 and A1 as large flames engulfed Unit 4 at the coal-powered station.
Video shows how part of the tower - believed to be a flue-gas desulphurisation unit - collapsed as the fire raged for several hours.
Lee Collings
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