Transformer fire causes power outage in East Ocean View, Norfolk

What happened

Norfolk dispatchers received a call at about 11 a.m. on Friday 16 October 2020 about a transformer fire in East Ocean View, Norfolk, Virginia. The fire led to power lines coming down, and more than 1,500 people lost power for a time. Dominion Energy and the Norfolk Fire Department responded, and the fire was already out when they arrived. By 12:25 p.m. power had been restored to all but 19 Dominion customers, and an outage map was made available to the public. The source does not report the cause of the fire, any injuries, or the age or ownership of the equipment.

Contributing factors

The source does not state what caused the transformer to catch fire. The fire brought down power lines, which extended the outage beyond the transformer itself.

Lessons learned

1. A transformer fire can bring down nearby overhead lines, so crews and responders should treat adjacent conductors as energised and cordon the wider area until they are confirmed dead.
2. Utilities should publish outage maps and restoration progress during an incident so that customers and emergency services have current information.
3. Fire crews arriving after a fire has self-extinguished should still confirm isolation and line status with the utility before approaching the equipment.

More lessons on spacing, layout and fire spread, outages, backup supply and restoration, fire suppression and firefighting, from every incident on the register.

Source

wavy.com