Transformer cable fire cuts power to about 1,000 premises in Gorakhpur
Oct 2026Published 31 Oct 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
On a Friday morning around 9am, a cable on a transformer in the Vijay Chowk feeder area, served by the University substation in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, caught fire. The fire was intense enough that the fire brigade was called. According to the report, the fire crew arrived about 10 minutes after the alert and brought the fire under control. As a precaution, the power supply was cut. About 1,000 establishments and households connected to the Vijay Chowk feeder lost power. After the fire was put out, rain prevented supply from being restored immediately, and residents faced considerable inconvenience.
Contributing factors
The source does not state the cause of the cable fire. Rain delayed restoration of supply after the fire was extinguished.
Lessons learned
- Distribution transformer and cable sites should have fire response plans that allow fire crews to reach the equipment quickly and give them safe isolation points.
- Isolating supply as a precaution is necessary, but operators should communicate outage scope and expected restoration times to affected customers promptly.
- Restoration plans should account for weather conditions, since rain can delay re-energisation even after a fire is out.
More lessons on fire suppression and firefighting, electrical protection and isolation, weather and external hazards, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-10-31. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
