Fire guts 150 MVA transformer at TCN Ayede substation in Ibadan

What happened

A fire was reported to have started at about 6:15 am at the Ayede sub-station in Ibadan and to have been put out at about 10:30 am. Firefighters from the Oyo State Fire Service, the Federal Fire Service and some corporate organisations attended, with other emergency services on site. Three people were reported to have sustained minor injuries, and no deaths were reported. An engineer at the station, not named in the report, said an electric surge caused a spark that was worsened by oil in the transformer. The station was said to supply Ibadan, Iseyin, Iwo, Saki and Sagamu, which might be without power until the transformer was replaced.

Contributing factors

The only account of cause is an unnamed engineer's report of an electric surge and spark, with transformer oil said to have made the fire harder to put out. Staff were reported to have tried to fight the fire before calling the fire service. No independent investigation is described.

Lessons learned

1. Check surge protection on large transformers to reduce the chance a fault leads to fire.
2. Plan in advance for fires involving large volumes of insulating oil which slow extinguishment.
3. Call the fire service early if on-site efforts fail to control an oil-fed transformer fire.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, fire suppression and firefighting, from every incident on the register.

Not yet known

• Exact cause of the surge
• Transformer model and age
• Duration of the power outage
• Cost of the damage and replacement

This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.

Source

majorwavesenergyreport.com