這並不應該發生 : 哈茨菲爾德-傑克遜亞特蘭大國際機場的起火事故
At 12:38 p.m. Sunday afternoon, December 17, employees from Georgia Power noticed outages in its system that were subsequently traced to a fire in an underground service tunnel at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, where the airport's electrical system is located. By 1:06 p.m., the fire was so extensive that it caused multiple faults, leading to a blackout at the world's busiest airport and leaving over 1,100 flights delayed and tens of thousands of people stranded in the darkened terminals or on the tarmac.
於2017年12月星期日晚間12點38分，喬治亞電力公司的員工注意到了追溯於哈茨菲爾德-傑克遜亞特蘭大國際機場放置機場電力系統的地下作業隧道裡的大火而引發的停電。至凌晨1點06分，由於火勢過大所造成的多處故障導致這世界最繁忙的機場大斷電並且有超過1100個班機延誤，還有成千上萬的乘客受困於黑暗的航廈內以及停機棚上。
The fire's intensity prevented Georgia Power crews from immediately being able to gain access to the tunnel in order to restore power. By 3:30 p.m., fire crews had contained the fire. However, it still took awhile before power crews could enter the tunnel to begin repairs.
火勢的劇烈阻擋了為了要回復電力而要進入隧道的喬治亞電力員工。到了凌晨3點30分，消防人員控制了火勢，然而在電力人員進入隧道內開始修復前還是花費了不少的時間。
"Because of the types of fumes that came through the tunnel as a result of the fire, we had to take some time before the team from Georgia Power could access the tunnel," said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
亞特蘭大的市長Kasim Reed表示：「由於大火而在隧道瀰漫的濃煙，在喬治亞電力公司人員可以進入隧道前必須得耗費一定的時間。」
The cause of the fire?
起火的原因是什麼?
"We know there was a failure in the switchgear that caused the fire that absolutely created the issue," said Paul Bowers, president and CEO of Georgia Power, speaking on ABC's Good Morning America Monday morning.
「我們得知是因為在開關設備上發生的錯誤而引起了絕對造成嚴重後果的大火。」喬治亞電力公司的總裁及執行長官Paul Bowers 在ABC電視台節目"美國的星期一早晨，早安!"中說道。
The system was set up such that the cables coming from two separate substations (one for main power, the other for backup) came together in one place in the tunnel. Cables from both substations were mounted on a wall, with the switchgear located at the base of the wall. When the switchgear ignited, flames shot upward on the wall and burned through the wall, setting the cables on both sides of the wall on fire, and taking out both the main system and the backup system.
這系統由來自兩的變電所(一為主要供電所，另一個為備用能源所)的電纜聚集於一塊兒建立於隧道內。兩間變電所的電纜線被安裝在開關設備位於底部的牆面上。當開關設備被引燃時，火舌迅速往牆的上方竄去並燒蝕了牆面，並把設置在牆的兩側的電纜線點燃還毀了主系統和備用系統。
Still unknown at this point: What caused the fire in the switchgear.
至今仍然尚未知曉：是什麼原因導致的開關系統的起火?
While it is too early to determine exactly how to prevent future problems of a similar nature, Georgia Power is considering at least three options. One is to isolate the switchgear, perhaps in a concrete encasement. The other is to install a concrete encasement around the wires on the wall. A third option would be to separate power sources for each concourse.
當人覺得確切規定類似現象的未來防範措施還為之尚早時，喬治亞電力公司已考慮了至少三種解決選項。一個是將開關設備獨立，也許將其獨立於混凝土製的包裝物中。另一個是於牆上圍繞著電纜線安裝混凝土製的外層。第三個選項也許會分散個別的動力源裝置進而設立各個總匯點。
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's footage about the fire:
亞特蘭大市長Kasim Reed對於起火事件的相關訪問: