Fire breaks out at JFE Steel plant

Chiba — A fire broke out Friday at a coastal plant of JFE Steel Corp. in Chiba Prefecture after coke apparently burned abnormally in a furnace, firefighters said.

No one was injured but one employee in his 30s at the plant, located in Chuo Ward in the city of Chiba, was taken to a hospital after experiencing dizziness, they said.

The plant experienced an unexpected blackout at around 10:10 a.m., which caused a dust chamber at one of the plant's furnaces to stop. When workers tried to prevent gas from coke that was burning abnormally from leaking outside, a fire broke out at around 10:30 a.m., sending up a plume of thick black smoke, they said.

Chiba firefighters did not conduct any extinguishing operations, and the plant's electricity was switched back on at around 10:50 a.m.