Transformer fire cuts power to downtown San Diego overnight

What happened

According to a short 10News report, a transformer caught fire in the 700 block of Kettner Boulevard in downtown San Diego, California, shortly after 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. The San Diego Fire Department responded. Power was lost in part of downtown and, according to the report, was restored at around 5:30 a.m. the following Sunday, an outage of roughly eight and a half hours on the report's approximate times. The report does not give the cause of the fire, the owner or operator of the transformer, the equipment make or age, or whether anyone was hurt or evacuated.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The cause of the transformer fire has not been stated in the available source.

Lessons learned

1. Urban distribution transformers in dense areas can fail with fire and cause outages across several blocks, so operators should plan switching and temporary supply routes in advance.
2. Fire services need clear information on the location of transformer vaults and the isolation points that make a site safe to attend.
3. Night-time transformer incidents may require out-of-hours access and isolation, so operators should confirm how these callouts are staffed and carried out.

More lessons on outages, backup supply and restoration, fire suppression and firefighting, electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.

Source

10news.com