Fire breaks out at hydroelectric power substation in Kaptai

The Fire Service was able to bring the flames in the switchyard at the country’s single hydroelectric power station under control

The Fire Service has brought under control a fire that broke out in the switchyard at Bangladesh’s only hydroelectric power substation in Rangamati’s Kaptai.

The fire started around 7:30am on Sunday and was brought under control after an hour’s effort, said Md Shahadat Hossain, station officer of the Kaptai Fire Service.

No casualties were reported in the incident, but some power transformers were damaged.

“The fire was brought under control around 8:30am,” said Shahadat when asked about the cause of the fire. “Initially we believe it may have sparked from an electrical short circuit because there was an intense storm at the time.”

Engineer ATM Abduzzaher, managing director of the Kaptai hydroelectric power station said, “There was a thunderstorm in the morning when the power suddenly went out. Later, when the line was restarted from the power plant, a transformer in the switchyard of the substation caught on fire.”

“We immediately informed the Kaptai Fire Service and they came and brought the fire under control.

However, the engineer noted that the power supply to the national grid was normal.

“Initially, we believe there wasn’t major damage to the transformer. However, a proposal has been sent to the authorities to establish a probe committee to find the extent of the damage caused by the fire.”

“Hopefully, the committee will be formed and start work soon. We will learn the true cause of the fire and the extent of the damage when we have the report.”