Arson fire at Paisley substation cuts power to homes and a care home

What happened

In the early hours of 15 June 2020, a fire broke out at the Montrose Road electricity substation in Paisley, Scotland, after a wheelie bin was deliberately set alight and placed next to the substation. The fire caused an estimated £50,000 of damage to the substation. Around 1,800 homes lost power for up to an hour, while 85 properties, including a care home, were without electricity for nearly nine hours.

A generator was brought in to provide an alternative power supply to the care home until mains power was restored. The network operator, SP Energy Networks, later offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible, describing the act as deliberate and dangerous. No injuries were reported.

Contributing factors

The fire was reported to have been started deliberately by placing a burning wheelie bin next to the substation.

Lessons learned

1. A substation fire from an external bin can spread to live equipment, so operators should clear combustible items from perimeters and fit early detection.
2. A care home on single substation supply lost power for nine hours, so vulnerable sites need pre-planned generator connections.
3. Arson at an unmanned substation caused long outages, so insurers should check perimeter security and bin storage rules.

More lessons on detection and monitoring, electrical protection and isolation, theft, arson and site security, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Substation equipment model and age
• Total cost of the power cuts

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Source

glasgowtimes.co.uk