Fire at FPL substation in Riviera Beach causes power outages
Aug 2021Published 13 Nov 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
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What happened
A fire broke out at an FPL substation in Riviera Beach on a Saturday morning, reported on 7 August 2021. Motorists travelling on Interstate 95 could see flames coming from the site. FPL said there were no injuries to employees or the public and that the cause of the fire was under investigation. For safety reasons, crews de-energised some nearby electrical equipment, which left approximately 1,200 customers without power. Crews worked to restore supply safely and as quickly as possible. The source does not report the equipment involved, the extent of the fire damage, or when power was fully restored.
Contributing factors
Not reported. The cause of the fire was under investigation at the time of publication.
Lessons learned
- Isolating nearby equipment during a substation fire can extend the outage to customers beyond the fire itself, so operators should plan switching and customer communication in advance.
- Early public information on injuries and safe isolation helps reassure the public and local authorities while the cause is still under investigation.
- Operators should record and publish the root cause and restoration time once confirmed so that peers can learn from the event.
More lessons on electrical protection and isolation, from every incident on the register.
Source
Published 2026-11-13. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
