Capacitor bank fire at Washington DC electrical substation extinguished
July 2026Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- electrical substation, 2100 block of N Street NW, Northwest Washington, D.C.
- Operator
- Pepco
- What
- fire involving a capacitor bank on the roof
- Injuries
- None reported
- Response
- firefighters and Pepco responded to the scene
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What happened
Firefighters responded to a fire at an electrical substation in the 2100 block of N Street NW, Northwest Washington, D.C., after smoke was reported coming from the roof of the two-story facility around 6:19 p.m. Crews found a fire involving a capacitor bank on the roof. The fire was extinguished and contained, and did not spread to adjacent buildings. No injuries were reported and no residents were displaced. Pepco, the electric utility, responded to the scene to assist fire crews. The cause of the fire was not immediately released by D.C. Fire and EMS at the time of reporting.
Contributing factors
A fire involving a capacitor bank located on the roof of the substation; the specific cause was not released.
Lessons learned
- Roof mounted capacitor banks at substations can emit smoke before flames appear. Operators should treat any smoke report as a prompt for investigation.
- Fire in a roof mounted capacitor bank stayed contained. Operators should check separation and barriers to stop spread to nearby buildings.
- Utility staff attended to support fire crews. Operators should maintain joint response plans with local fire services for substation fires.
More lessons on emergency response and public communication, spacing, layout and fire spread, fire suppression and firefighting, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Cause of the capacitor bank fire
- Model and age of the capacitor bank
- Duration of any power outage
- Cost of repairs or replacement
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
