Fire in DT fuse box and cable cuts power to about 50 homes in Usiya village, Ghazipur

What happened

A DT (fuse) box and its connecting cable caught fire in Usiya village, Dildarnagar, in Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh, India. The box was mounted on an HT pole beside a transformer in the Mahuabari area of the village. Sudden sparking was followed by a loud blast, after which the box and cable burned. Villagers alerted the local electricity substation. As a precaution, the department cut the supply, leaving about 50 homes without power.

Villagers and electricity department staff brought the fire under control before the flames reached the transformer, which villagers said could have caused a serious accident. Department crews were replacing the burnt box and cable and repairing the line. Repair orders had been issued, and power was to be restored once the work was complete. The source gives no restoration date and does not state the cause of the sparking.

Contributing factors

Not reported. The source describes sudden sparking at the fuse box and cable before the fire, but gives no cause.

Lessons learned

1. Inspect fuse boxes and cable terminations on pole-mounted distribution transformers regularly for heat damage, loose connections and burn marks.
2. Isolate the supply quickly when sparking is seen at a distribution asset, and keep residents clear of the area.
3. Where local residents are often the first to respond, give them a clear reporting route and basic guidance on safe distances from energised equipment.
4. Record the root cause of each distribution fault so that similar failures on the same network can be identified and addressed.

More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, spacing, layout and fire spread, from every incident on the register.

Source

bhaskar.com