Transformer fire in Greenlane, central Auckland

What happened

On a Wednesday morning, a transformer in Greenlane, central Auckland, New Zealand, caught fire. Fire crews found a large transformer fire impinging on a house and on trees beside it. The same report described other outages across Auckland and lower Northland that left thousands without electricity, including a separate wire failure that cut supply to customers of Transpower, Vector and Northpower fed from Wellsford Station or the Maungaturoto substation. This account does not say what caused the Greenlane fire, whether anyone was hurt, how badly the transformer was damaged, or how long power was off in Greenlane.

Lessons learned

1. Keep houses and trees clear of transformers, because a transformer fire can impinge on both.
2. When several outages occur on the same morning, record each fault separately so a wire failure is not treated as the cause of a transformer fire.
3. Do not state damage, injuries or restoration times until they are confirmed.

Source

transformer-magazine.com