Five hours after a fire at an electrical substation caused power outages at Heathrow Airport and thousands of homes in western London, the city’s fire brigade reported early Friday that they were still working to extinguish the fire. By 4 a.m. Friday, half of a transformer continued to burn, with the London Fire Brigade warning that the disruptions from the fire would intensify in the morning.
The blaze at the North Hyde substation, located approximately two miles north of Heathrow, left over 16,000 homes without power, according to Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks, the regional power utility.
“This will be a prolonged incident, with crews remaining on scene throughout the night,” stated Pat Goulbourne, assistant commissioner at the London Fire Brigade. “As we head into the morning, disruption is expected to increase, and we urge people to avoid the area wherever possible.”
The London Fire Brigade deployed around 70 firefighters to the substation where a transformer was burning. Thick smoke was observed rising from the burning substation in a photo shared on social media by the fire brigade.
Approximately 150 people were evacuated, and authorities established a 650-foot perimeter around the substation to contain the fire. The cause of the fire remains unknown, according to the fire brigade.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/world/europe/london-firefighters-heathrow-airport.html
