Transformer fire cuts power to flats in Burlada, Spain

What happened

A fire broke out at about 19:14 in a storage premises (bajera) of a building on calle Basilio Armendáriz in Burlada, Navarre, Spain. The fire affected an electricity transformer and caused a power cut to several neighbouring entrances (portales). Several people were trapped in the building's lifts, and firefighters freed them. Residents of the building were evacuated as a precaution. Firefighters from the Trinitarios and Cordovilla stations attended, together with the Policía Local de Burlada, the Policía Foral and technicians from the electricity company.

Emergency services reported no injuries and no transfers to health centres. The fire service intervention ended at 21:14, about two hours after the alert, but several nearby entrances remained without power while the company's technicians worked to restore supply. The source does not say whether the premises was at basement or ground level.

Contributing factors

The source does not state the cause of the fire or the cause of the transformer failure.

Lessons learned

1. Transformers located in enclosed storage spaces within residential buildings need fire separation, ventilation and clear access for fire crews.
2. Building managers should plan for lift entrapment during a power failure, including how trapped occupants are reached and released quickly.
3. Operators of distribution transformers serving multi-occupancy buildings should agree restoration and communication arrangements with emergency services, so that evacuated residents and affected neighbouring entrances are updated promptly.

More lessons on fire suppression and firefighting, emergency response and public communication, from every incident on the register.

Source

pamplonaactual.com