Fire service give update on Hayes substation blaze after police declare major incident

A substation fire in Hayes involved 25,000 litres of cooling oil fully alight, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has revealed.

Speaking to broadcasters at the scene in Hayes on Friday (21 March), deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said the LFB received 212 calls in relation to the fire near Heathrow Airport.

“The fire involved a transformer comprising of 25,000 litres of cooling oil fully alight. This created a major hazard due to the still live high-voltage equipment and the nature of the oil-fuelled fire.”

The Metropolitan Police declared a major incident for the fire at 12.42am on Friday, Mr Smith said.

Around 10 percent of the substation remains alight.

Some 67,000 households were left without power due to the incident and 5,000 homes remain without power.