Massive wind turbine catches fire and burns for hours because German fire fighters don't have ladders long enough to tackle the 100m high blaze

The flames struck this morning in Isselburg in North Rhine-Westphalia. Emergency services were called at 6am to the turbine near Wolf Lake. Around 40 emergency personnel and six vehicles attended the scene. Investigators looking into possibility that a lightning storm was to blame.

A wind turbine in Germany burned for hours today because fire fighters did not have ladders long enough to tackle the 100 metre high blaze. 

The flames struck this morning in the town of Isselburg in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Emergency services were called at 6am to the turbine near Wolf Lake and smoke was seen by motorists on the nearby A3 road.

Fire fighters were not able to tackle the 100m blaze so were forced to let the turbine burn and watch the rotor blades fall to the ground.

According to initial estimates the damage is estimated to have cost several hundred thousand euros.

Around 40 emergency personnel and six vehicles have attended the scene under the direction of fire chief Mark Berning.

Investigators are looking into the possibility that a lightning storm might have started the blaze.

In 2014 research found that nearly 120 wind turbines catch fire every year.

The figures, compiled by engineers at Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh, make fire the second-largest cause of accidents after blade failure.

The researchers claim that out of 200,000 turbines around the world, 117 fires took place annually.

Fire has a huge financial impact on the industrym the researchers report in the journal Fire Safety Science.

Each wind turbine costs more than £2 million and generates an estimated income of more than £500,000 per year.

Any loss or downtime of these valuable assets makes the industry less viable and productive.

Dr Guillermo Rein of Imperial's department of mechanical engineering, said at the time: 'Fires are a problem for the industry, impacting on energy production, economic output and emitting toxic fumes.'