SHILONG: An FIR has been filed after an electric transformer was completely damaged in a major fire at Upper Barapathar on Sunday morning. .
The FIR filed by Assistant Executive Engineer, MePDCL said that around 6. 30 am, the 500 KVA distribution transformer at Upper Barapathar caught fire as reported by nearby residents.
“It was informed that the fire started from the corner of substation fencing and it is suspected that some miscreants have thrown some inflammable material into the fenced area inside the substation”, said the FIR lodged with Jhalupara Beat House.
The official was informed about the incident at 7.45 am by the MeECL customer care ad as precautionary measure power supply was shut down immediately.
The official informed that on duty staff rushed to site and poured water into the substation with the help of nearby residents and the fire was controlled.
A.Nikhla, CMD, MeECL said the pictures of the black smudge on the green and greyish wall seem to indicate that “a flaming object/something containing inflammatory object which combusts on impact was thrown at that point”.
She said the object fell into the area of the transformer and set it on fire dismissing the initial report that the fire was caused by a short circuit.
Nikhla said in case of a short circuit starting from the Low Tension lines (adjacent to the road) the fuses would have melted and power supply to the transformer would be automatically disconnected. In case of a fault in the High Tension lines, the line would have disconnected itself from the substation providing the power supply. In both cases, a fire would not have occurred.
In case of a fault occurring in the area between the lines and the transformer, the fuse in the transformer would have blown thereby disconnecting the power supply. In this case too, there would have been no occurrence of fire.
According to the official, in case of a fault in the transformer itself, the body of the transformer would have expanded and swelled up, she added.
‘As can be seen from the pictures, this has not happened and the transformer is intact,’’ she said.
‘It is an unfortunate incident as it means power shutdown for many households in the area until it can be repaired. Repairs can only be effected after the police have finished with preliminary investigation at the site.’’she added.
