Transformer fire at Schongau substation causes large regional power cut

What happened

At around 13:00 on a Saturday, a transformer at the Schongau substation caught fire, causing a large power cut across the Schongau area. Local residents reported several loud bangs and called emergency services. The fire brigade attended and extinguished the fire. Police said the cause was a technical defect. LEW Verteilnetz (LVN) restored supply during the afternoon, and disaster relief was also called in. Traffic lights failed and shopping was no longer possible in various shops and petrol stations.

A care home was without power for about 90 minutes, and no residents were trapped in its lift. Several fire and intruder alarms were triggered by the outage, keeping police busy. Separately, the Altenstadt fire brigade was alerted to a heating power station, where a fuse box was burning. At a swimming baths, all pumps failed, the basement had to be pumped out using hose lines, and all bathers were required to leave.

Contributing factors

Police said the cause was a technical defect. No further cause was reported.

Lessons learned

1. A transformer fire can cascade into a wide outage that disables traffic signals, alarms and critical services, so operators and authorities should plan for loss of supply to vital loads.
2. Public facilities relying on pumps to protect basements or pools need backup power or safe shutdown procedures for when mains supply fails.
3. Fire and intruder alarm systems should have battery backup, and network operators should coordinate restoration with emergency services and disaster relief.

More lessons on detection and monitoring, worker safety and safe systems of work, theft, arson and site security, from every incident on the register.

Source

kreisbote.de