Substation fire in Norwalk cuts power to thousands of Eversource customers

An electrical substation on New Canaan Avenue in Norwalk, Connecticut, caught fire on the evening of 24 August 2020. Fire officials reported heavy fire visible from an elevated switch gear cabinet controlling a 13,800 volt transmission line. Eversource technicians shut down power to the area so firefighters could safely tackle the blaze. Firefighters used dry chemical extinguishers to knock down the fire before applying a CO2 extinguisher to cool the equipment. Once the fire was extinguished, Eversource employees began restoring power that had been shut off for firefighting. At the peak of the outage, more than 16,000 Eversource customers in the city were without power, with over 6,000 still affected by around 9pm. No injuries were reported.

The source does not state a root cause for the fire.

1. Utilities should coordinate closely with fire services to ensure power is de-energised safely before firefighting begins at electrical infrastructure.
2. Switch gear cabinets and other elevated electrical equipment require appropriate extinguishing agents, such as dry chemical and CO2, to manage fires without further damaging equipment.
3. Clear public communication about outage scope and restoration progress helps manage community impact during substation failures.

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