WATCH: Eight fire stations battle transformer fire in Spartan
OR Tambo International Airport said the power interruption at the airport lasted about three hours
Eskom’s substation at the Len Futcher building (electricity department building) on Plane Road in Spartan caught fire on Sunday morning.
One of the transformers was completely destroyed by the blaze, which also resulted in certain suburbs being without electricity for a few hours.
The substation supplies power to the City’s 66kV and 132kV networks.
According to the City of Ekurhuleni, the following areas were affected by the fire: OR Tambo International Airport, Isando, Spartan, Kempton Park central business district, Aston Manor and Bonaero Park.
“A member of the public walked into Kempton Park Fire Station and reported the fire around 9.20am and firefighters responded immediately. On arrival they had to cut gate locks to gain access to the property,” said William Ntladi, spokesperson for Ekurhuleni Emergency Management Services (EMS).
“Eight fire stations were called for back-up. Ten fire engines, some with specialised equipment, attended to the fire.”
Ntladi said the fire was completely extinguished around 1pm, using foam. Eskom officials had to switch off two other transformers for safety purposes while distinguishing the fire.
The cause of the fire was, on Monday morning, still unknown. No injuries or casualties were reported as a result of the fire.
Samukelo Khambule, acting spokesperson at OR Tambo International Airport, said the power interruption at the airport lasted about three hours.
“Certain services were affected such as people movers, retail outlets and some communication mechanisms (FIDS boards, PA system). Airport operations continued assisted by back-up generators, which ensured that critical infrastructure continued,” said Khambule.
“Manual operations were also activated in mainstream services such as baggage systems. After the power was restored, the resetting and reactivation of equipment happened in phases to ensure that systems were tested and ready to carry the load.”
Khambule said on Monday that the airport was fully operational and had not experienced further interruptions.
Express was unable to get comment from Eskom at the time of going to print.
