Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-2043

Faulty equipment causes fire at National Grid substation in downtown Buffalo

Mar 2022Published 6 Oct 2026

MinorThermal / fireProvisionalNext update 7 OctNorth America

Reported damage From the sourceReported figuresupply cut for •• days

From the recordRoot cause Failed part

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Companies named in this entry: National Grid

What happened

At around noon on a Tuesday, reported on 1 March 2022, a fire broke out at a National Grid substation in downtown Buffalo, New York. National Grid said a faulty piece of equipment caused the fire. The Buffalo Fire Department attended and the fire was put out. The fire department estimated the damage at 170,000 US dollars. No customers lost electricity and no injuries were reported. National Grid said that once the fire was out it would assess the damage and begin repairs. The report does not identify the equipment that failed or say how long the fire burned.

Contributing factors

National Grid said a faulty piece of equipment caused the fire. The equipment and the fault were not identified.

Lessons learned

Network design that can supply customers from another route kept every customer on supply here, which is worth checking for other urban substations.
Utilities should record which component failed and why after each substation fire.

Source

wkbw.com

Other entries that name Buffalo

Transformer fire causes damage at National Grid substation in Buffalo EIR-0904 · 2021

Published 2026-10-06. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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