"It was accidental:" How one of state's biggest hydro power stations caught fire

A massive blaze that gutted a 140 megawatt hydro-electric power station in Tasmania – one of the state’s biggest – and left hundreds of homes without power likely started on the building’s assembly bay floor.

Tasmania’s Tungatinah Power Station, which supplies five per cent of the state’s electricity supply, went up in flames on the night of September 2.

The cause of the fire was accidental, the Tasmania Fire Service said on Thursday.

“Preliminary investigation findings have identified several potential ignition sources, which will be subject to further investigation,” fire service deputy chief officer Matt Lowe said.

“However, the fire has originated on the assembly bay floor, away from the main turbines.”