St John's Wood electrical substation, London, catches fire twice in two weeks
May 2025Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- St John's Wood electrical substation, Cunningham Place / Aberdeen Place, London
- Operator
- UK Power Networks
- What
- Substation caught fire twice in two weeks
- Cause
- Accidental for 12 May fire
- Outcome
- Three metres of high voltage cabling destroyed
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): UK Power Networks
What happened
The St John's Wood electrical substation, on Cunningham Place / Aberdeen Place in St John's Wood, London, operated and owned by UK Power Networks, caught fire for the second time in two weeks. Firefighters were called at 2.10pm on 12 May 2025 after fire broke out at the site. Three metres of high voltage cabling connected to the substation were destroyed. London Fire Brigade took 16 calls and advised nearby residents to keep doors and windows shut due to smoke.
The fire was brought under control by 5.45pm. Two weeks earlier, on 29 April 2025, an explosion described by a nearby resident as a 'fireball' had caused a fire at the same substation at 5.30am, sending smoke into the sky. UK Power Networks said that earlier fire may have been caused by a fault on a piece of equipment. Investigators believe the cause of the 12 May fire was accidental.
Contributing factors
UK Power Networks stated the earlier fire may have been caused by a fault on a piece of substation equipment. Investigators believe the second fire was accidental, though the exact technical cause of the repeat incident is not stated.
Lessons learned
- High voltage cabling at substations must be fully inspected after a fire, as three metres were destroyed in the repeat event.
- A substation equipment fault that leads to fire requires root cause analysis before return to service to stop recurrence within weeks.
More lessons on maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Exact technical cause of the May fire
- Equipment model and age
- Duration of any outage
- Cost of repairs and cabling replacement
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Site page: St John's Wood substation (status, dates and other incidents)
Other entries that name John's Wood
Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
