School in Bergerac closed after transformer fire cuts power

What happened

According to a local news report, a fire broke out on an electrical transformer outside the Edmond Rostand school in Bergerac, Dordogne, France, on the evening of Thursday 8 October 2026. The report cites Bergerac town hall as saying the fire followed an internal short circuit in the transformer. The power cut affected the school and part of the surrounding neighbourhood. Power had not returned by the morning of Friday 9 October, so the school was closed and classes were cancelled.

Parents were contacted at opening and most children went home, while 22 pupils were received in a neighbouring school hall. The mayor was reported to expect repairs on Saturday 10 October and lessons to resume on Monday 12 October. The report does not mention any injuries.

Contributing factors

According to Bergerac town hall, as reported, the fire followed an internal short circuit within the transformer. No other cause is reported.

Lessons learned

1. Distribution transformers close to schools and housing benefit from a documented inspection and thermal monitoring regime, since an internal fault can start a fire and remove power to a whole area.
2. Operators should keep an emergency plan for schools and other critical sites that covers loss of supply lasting more than one day, including early notification of parents and a standby venue.
3. Local authorities and network operators should agree in advance who communicates repair timescales to affected public buildings.

More lessons on detection and monitoring, outages, backup supply and restoration, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.

Source

ici.fr