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Grid infrastructureUnited StatesEIR-2550

Explosion and fire at Velco substation in Pittsford

2024Published 25 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor

SignificantThermal / fireProvisionalNext update 25 Oct
Estimated damageEstimated by the register's adjusterHow? Know the real figure?
Figure hidden: shown to subscribersLow confidence
supply cut for about •• daysShown in the record →Full estimate

What happened

An explosion and fire occurred at the Velco substation in Pittsford on a Monday evening, according to a post by the Pittsford Fire Department on Facebook, as reported by WPTZ on 18 September 2024. The fire department responded to the scene, where Velco employees were already present. Both parties determined that the facility needed to be powered down before the fire could be safely extinguished. Firefighters cleared the scene by 11.30 pm. The article does not report any injuries. Investigators are looking into the cause of the explosion, which remained unknown at the time of reporting.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The cause of the explosion remains unknown according to the source.

Lessons learned

  1. Operators should agree shutdown and isolation procedures with local fire services in advance, so that a live substation can be made safe quickly during a fire.
  2. Substation operators should keep site-specific emergency plans that identify who is on site, how the facility is powered down and how firefighters are kept safe.
  3. Early, transparent investigation of substation explosions helps other operators check similar equipment and failure modes.

More lessons on worker safety and safe systems of work, fire suppression and firefighting, investigation and fleet-wide checks, from every incident on the register.

Source

mynbc5.com

Published 2026-10-25. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.

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