A recent incident in the seaside town of Margate in Kent saw local fire crews attend a popular venue to discover an electrical fire in progress.
An electrical box supplying power to the Old Kent Market, situated at 8 Fort Hill, was spotted alight by multiple members of the public, who reported sightings to the local fire services.
Answering the call, two fire engines with crews were dispatched and arrived at the scene at about 6pm. Firefighters used extinguishers designed for electrical fires that deliver dry power to snuff out the blaze and then isolated the power in the faulty supply box.
Offering free entry, the Old Kent Market is commercial hub for the area, featuring a wide range of temporary stalls selling arts and crafts, as well as baked food, craft ales and cocktails. Once the site of the historic Parade Cinema, the building was carefully restored to retain its character and heritage.
The necessary power outage made it impossible for the market and many other local businesses connected to the supply to operate effectively, and they were forced to close temporarily.
The market issued a post via social media:
“Hi all, unfortunately we have been struck by a power cut here at the market and will not be open today or tomorrow. Hopefully, this will be fixed ASAP. I will keep everyone updated when it has been fixed.”
Enterprises in areas like Margate and Chester can use an electrician to run regular maintenance checks on both electrical systems and fire safety equipment to ensure it is operating effectively.
