IAEA has been informed by Japanese authorities that a fire in the reactor building of unit 4 could no longer be observed as of 21:15 UTC 15 Mar 2011. The fire was visually observed at the reactor at 20:45 UTC 15 March 2011. The fire had previously been confirmed extinguished at 0200 15 Mar 2011 after burning for two hours.
12:00 UTC 15 Mar 2011: the water level in unit 5 was detected at 201 cm above the top of the fuel (16.6% decrease of immersion level over the previous 5 hours). Officials at the plant exoressed their intent to use an operational diesel generator in unit 6 to supply water to unit 5.
Japanese authorities have reported concerns about the condition of the spent nuclear fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 and Unit 4. Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa announced Wednesday that Special Defence Forces helicopters planned to drop water onto Unit 3, and officials are also preparing to spray water into Unit 4 from ground positions, and possibly later into Unit 3. Some debris on the ground from the 14 March explosion at Unit 3 may need to be removed before the spraying can begin.