Hayes hearth: Heathrow airport closed after blaze at electrical substation in west London | Heathrow airport

London’s Heathrow airport has been closed till midnight on Friday after a fireplace at {an electrical} substation supplying the airport triggered a “vital energy outage” and left 1000’s of houses with out energy.

In an announcement on its web site and shared on social media, Heathrow airport mentioned all passengers had been suggested to not journey to the airport.

“To keep up the protection of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow shall be closed till 23h59 on 21 March,” the assertion mentioned.

The fireplace at {an electrical} substation in west London has left greater than 16,000 houses with out energy, and compelled greater than 100 individuals to evacuate.

The London hearth brigade mentioned a transformer inside the substation was alight, with 10 hearth engines and about 70 firefighters on the scene at Nestles Avenue in Hayes.

About 150 individuals have been evacuated from surrounding properties and a 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution.

Assistant commissioner Pat Goulbourne mentioned: “It is a extremely seen and vital incident, and our firefighters are working tirelessly in difficult situations to carry the hearth underneath management as swiftly as potential.

“The fireplace has triggered an influence outage affecting a lot of houses and native companies, and we’re working intently with our companions to minimise disruption.”

Firefighters led 29 individuals from surrounding properties to security.

The brigade mentioned practically 200 calls had been acquired in relation to the incident with crews from Hayes, Heathrow, Hillingdon, Southall and surrounding areas on the scene.

Scottish and Southern Electrical energy Networks mentioned in a put up on X there was a large-scale energy outage within the space impacting greater than 16,300 houses.

“We’re conscious of a widespread energy reduce affecting a lot of our clients across the Hayes, Hounslow and surrounding areas,” it mentioned.

Emergency providers had been known as to the scene at 11.23pm on Thursday. The reason for the hearth was but to be decided.

Goulbourne mentioned firefighters urged individuals to take security precautions as crews labored to extinguish the blaze. “This shall be a chronic incident, with crews remaining on scene all through the evening,” he mentioned.

“As we head into the morning, disruption is anticipated to extend, and we urge individuals to keep away from the realm wherever potential.”

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