Substation fire in Ho Chi Minh City produces tall smoke column
May 2026Published 30 Sept 2026
What happened
A fire broke out at the 110kV substation in An Phu Dong ward, Ho Chi Minh City, on 18 May 2026. Loud continuous explosions were reported at about 8:30 am, followed by flames and a column of black smoke rising tens of metres. People nearby and two security guards on duty tried to fight the fire, but the flames flared and the first attempt failed. The Fire and Rescue Team of Area 12 then extinguished the blaze after about 20 minutes. No casualties were reported. Assets inside the substation were burned. The cause had not been established.
Contributing factors
The cause was still under investigation and has not been reported.
Lessons learned
- A substation fire can grow faster than people on site can control, so the fire service should be called at once.
- Staff should have a clear way to raise the alarm and leave rather than stay with an electrical fire that is already flaring.
- Until the cause is known, operators of similar sites should treat the event as a prompt to check access, detection and first response, not as a settled failure mode.
Source
Published 2026-09-30. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.