Fire knocks BHP Port Kembla steelworks

Port Kembla steelworks was partially evacuated recently after a 20 tonne overhead coal trolley was ignited by a gas fire.

Only minor injuries were reported during the power outage, which triggered an automatic burn-off of excess gas near a coking oven.

About 50 firefighters from 11 crews rushed to the huge industrial complex and doused the trolley full of coal, suspended on an overhead track leading up to the furnace in a four-storey structure.

BHP Steel reported most of the plant was back online that same afternoon but work had to be continued to restore all operations without disruption to market supplies.

"We accounted for all employees, some areas were evacuated as a precaution," a company spokeswoman said.

"There's also been a small number of minor injuries reported."

BHP Steel said gas from the coking oven was automatically ignited during the power outage to prevent raw fuel escaping into the atmosphere, but the coal bucket was in the way and part of it caught alight.

"The NSW Fire Brigade assisted in keeping the equipment cool while steelworks personnel worked to move the charger car away from the gas flare," the company said in a statement.

"This process was undertaken in a controlled, safe manner...the fire on the charger car was extinguished."

NSW Fire Brigades Sydney response co-ordinator Inspector Bob Brown said seven employees were safely evacuated from the site and firefighters were able to stop the fire spreading.