这并不应该发生 : 哈茨菲尔德-杰克逊亚特兰大国际机场的起火事故
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.
于2017年12月星期日晚间12点38分，乔治亚电力公司的员工注意到了追溯于哈茨菲尔德-杰克逊亚特兰大国际机场放置机场电力系统的地下作业隧道里的大火而引发的停电。至凌晨1点06分，由于火势过大所造成的多处故障导致这世界最繁忙的机场大断电并且有超过1100个班机延误，还有成千上万的乘客受困于黑暗的航厦内以及停机棚上。
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.
火势的剧烈阻挡了为了要回复电力而要进入隧道的乔治亚电力员工。到了凌晨3点30分，消防人员控制了火势，然而在电力人员进入隧道内开始修复前还是花费了不少的时间。
"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.
亚特兰大的市长Kasim Reed表示：「由于大火而在隧道弥漫的浓烟，在乔治亚电力公司人员可以进入隧道前必须得耗费一定的时间。」
The cause of the fire?
起火的原因是什么?
"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.
「我们得知是因为在开关设备上发生的错误而引起了绝对造成严重后果的大火。」乔治亚电力公司的总裁及执行长官Paul Bowers 在ABC电视台节目"美国的星期一早晨，早安!"中说道。
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.
这系统由来自两的变电所(一为主要供电所，另一个为备用能源所)的电缆聚集于一块儿建立于隧道内。两间变电所的电缆线被安装在开关设备位于底部的墙面上。当开关设备被引燃时，火舌迅速往墙的上方窜去并烧蚀了墙面，并把设置在墙的两侧的电缆线点燃还毁了主系统和备用系统。
Still unknown at this point: What caused the fire in the switchgear.
至今仍然尚未知晓：是什么原因导致的开关系统的起火?
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.
当人觉得确切规定类似现象的未来防范措施还为之尚早时，乔治亚电力公司已考虑了至少三种解决选项。一个是将开关设备独立，也许将其独立于混凝土制的包装物中。另一个是于墙上围绕着电缆线安装混凝土制的外层。第三个选项也许会分散个别的动力源装置进而设立各个总汇点。
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's footage about the fire:
亚特兰大市长Kasim Reed对于起火事件的相关访问: