Substation fire leaves 4,700 customers without power in Cleveland
May 2022Published 8 Oct 2026Responsible editor: George, Chief Editor
What happened
On 20 May 2022, Cleveland firefighters were fighting a fire at a substation on East 55th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, according to a short report by WOIO (Cleveland 19 News). The report places the substation in the 24OO block of East 55th Street. It says 4,700 First Energy customers were without power. First Energy crews were on site and were to start repairs once the fire was out, and the company hoped to restore customers by 9 p.m. that evening. The report does not give the cause, the equipment involved, whether anyone was hurt, or whether power was in fact restored.
Contributing factors
The report does not state the cause of the fire or which equipment failed or caught fire.
Lessons learned
- A fire at one substation can cut supply to thousands of customers, so switching and restoration plans should be ready before crews arrive.
- Fire services and the network operator need agreed access and isolation arrangements so the fire can be fought while the site is made safe.
- Early public estimates of restoration should be treated as provisional until the fire is out and the damage is known.
More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, fire suppression and firefighting, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-10-08. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.