Fire destroys power transformer feeding households in Kohima, India

What happened

A fire broke out on the morning of Saturday 19 November 2022 in one of three power transformers at a substation located below the Government Industrial Training Institute in Kohima. The fire service was called at about 6:43 am and reached the site within five minutes. Firefighters put out the fire before it spread to two adjoining transformers. Four fire tenders and 160 litres of foam were used. No casualties were reported.

The damage was estimated at not less than INR 40 lakh. The substation was reported to feed between 15,000 and 20,000 households in north Kohima. Power was partially restored from neighbouring substations, with full restoration expected by dawn on Sunday. The transformer was to be taken for repair once the root cause was identified, a process expected to take at least two months.

Contributing factors

The cause of the fire had not been ascertained at the time of reporting. The Power Grid Corporation of India was analysing the root cause.

Lessons learned

1. Keep adjoining transformers separated by fire barriers or spacing so that a single transformer fire does not spread to neighbouring units.
2. Maintain alternative substations and switching arrangements so that supply to large numbers of households can be restored quickly while a damaged transformer is out of service.
3. Plan for long lead times for transporting and repairing large transformers, and hold spare units or repair contracts where the supply risk justifies it.

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

Source

easternmirrornagaland.com