Fire at Safranbolu substation cuts power to three districts in Turkey
Sept 2018Published 1 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
Get the next one by email
Free alerts on grid infrastructure incidents in Turkey, and an email when EIR-2699 is updated. No account needed; unsubscribe in one click.
Confirm your email and every substation and transformer incident on the register arrives at once as a spreadsheet (CSV), free.
Get a free sample brief Three complete verified records and the incidents-per-GW table, by email within a minute.
We will also email you about the register's paid records and plans, at most once a week and three times in all. You can stop these at any time. By signing up you agree to the privacy policy.
Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Türkiye Elektrik İletim AŞ, TEİAŞ
What happened
On 6 September 2018, a fire broke out at the Safranbolu Trafo Merkezi substation in Safranbolu district of Karabük province, Turkey. The substation is operated by Türkiye Elektrik İletim AŞ (TEİAŞ). The cause of the fire had not been identified when the report was published. Staff at the site noticed the fire and alerted fire crews. Firefighters had a difficult time because underground cables inside the substation were burning. Police set up wide security measures around the site.
The fire took about three hours to extinguish. Electricity supply was cut to five neighbourhoods of Karabük and to the whole of Safranbolu, Eflani and Ovacık districts. The report does not say when supply was restored or how much equipment was damaged.
Contributing factors
The cause of the fire was not determined at the time of reporting. Burning underground cables made firefighting difficult.
Lessons learned
- Cable routes in substations should be separated by fire barriers or segregation so that one ignition cannot spread along underground cables and take out several feeders.
- Operators should keep current cable route drawings available to emergency crews so they can work safely when underground cables are on fire.
- Restoration plans should include pre-planned switching to alternative supply so that a substation fire does not leave several districts without power for long periods.
More lessons on spacing, layout and fire spread, electrical protection and isolation, outages, backup supply and restoration, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-11-01. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
