Heat wave blamed for Taiwan park fire
Print Edition
MORE than 1,200 people were evacuated from a Taiwan water park after solar panels caught fire in the midst of a heat wave that has seen record power consumption as the island struggles to keep cool.
Local media reported the fire in Taipei, which left a swathe of solar panels at the park blackened and distorted, could have been sparked by soaring temperatures.
The mercury hit 38.5 degrees Celsius for two consecutive days on Wednesday and yesterday, the second highest temperature ever recorded for July.
The Taipei water park’s chief engineer Wang Ming-fu said the fire may have been the result of a short circuit due to high temperatures or the overheating of the panels, which have been in service for 10 years, Taiwan media reported.
Fire department officials said they were still investigating the cause of the blaze, which happened on Wednesday, but added it was rare for solar panels to ignite.
Nobody was injured and the fire was put out within half an hour.
The water park reopened yesterday and visitors were undeterred by the previous day’s blaze as they sought respite from the sweltering heat. The hot spell is set to continue for the next few days and has prompted a warning from Taiwan’s power authorities who say that energy is running low.
Daily power usage hit a record 35.821 million kilowatts on Wednesday as residents reached for the air conditioning.
Electricity consumption in July was up 1.17 percent from the same period last year.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
