Hundreds of homes without power after huge fire at electrical sub station with smoke seen billowing through city centre
MORE than 400 properties have been left without power while fire crews battle a huge blaze in a major south-western city.
The inferno engulfed an electrical station in the heart of the city, filling the streets with black smoke.
The blaze took root in Exeter, just off the central location of Fore Street, at 6am on Sunday.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue crews responded quickly and began evacuating nearby properties.
Firefighters battled for hours to keep the inferno under control, as over 900 homes lost power.
According to the National Grid, 405 homes are still left without power due to the fire which had been caused by “third party damage”.
The fire service also released a public statement on X (formerly Twitter), urging residents in surrounding areas to keep their curtains closed.
The department warned that the fire was “causing lots of smoke in the are”, which could lead to property damage.
It added: “Please keep your windows and doors closed if you live in the area.
“You may also experience some disruption to your electricity supply.”
The National Grid has confirmed, though, that power has already been restored to 491 homes and is expected to return to all properties by 12pm.
The fire service is inspecting surrounding properties for evidence of fire spread, in a bid to prevent the blaze from breaking out again.
Residents who have been evacuated from their homes will be temporarily housed at the local Riverside Leisure Centre.
The fire comes just months after thousands of holiday plans were thrown into disarray, by a fire at Heathrow Airport’s substation.
Over 300,000 passengers had their holiday plans disrupted, while many other planes were diverted to other airports.