A recent fire in an electricity substation took out both IT and phone services around Northampton’s town centre.
Multiple fire stations in the area answered the 999 call after citizens reported the blaze. Crews came from Moulton, Mereway and The Mounts to tackle the fire. Once onsite, firefighters discovered a single-storey structure made of brick alight outside of the County Hall. The building housed an electrical substation, and a large volume of smoke could be seen billowing from it.
According to the Northampton Chronicle, a spokesperson for Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue reported activity at the scene:
“Western Power Distribution attended the incident to isolate the power to the affected substation to enable the crews to extinguish the fire. They used four breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets and one main jet and they used the thermal imaging camera to check adjacent buildings for any hotspots.”
Many parts of central Northampton were unable to use IT and telephone services as a result of the electrical fire.
Among the enterprises and government operations impacted were the offices of West Northamptonshire’s council based in Angel Square.
Local authorities and businesses alike in Northampton and Chester in need of electrical repairs should only ever use certified contractors to carry out work to ensure equipment and power supplies can be safely used.
As fire crews secure the area ensuring it was safe, engineers worked to restore both the telephone and electrical services that had been disrupted by the incident. An investigation is now in progress to ascertain the cause of the electrical fire within the substation.
