|
From the Dominion Post, Tuesday May 16, 2006:
Explosion cuts power to 800 homes
"Power was cut to 800 properties around Tawa, and three houses were evacuated after a transformer exploded.
Tawa chief fire officer Gary Denton said firefighters were called when smoke started coming out of the transformer at Sunrise Boulevard about 6.30 last night. They arrived to witness a "fairly dramatic" explosion, he said.
Three houses near the transformer were evacuated for a short time because of the smoke.
Mr Denton said firefighters used foam and water to cool the transformer down before power company staff began working on it.
Power had been cut to several streets and he understood it would be "some time" before it was restored. "The transformer was completely destroyed," Mr Denton said.
Vector spokeswoman Phillipa White said that 800 customers had lost power from the blast and 100 waited almost six hours to be reconnected. The nearby Longview Rest Home was relying on battery power to operate, Mr Denton said.
The cause of the blast was not known."
Additional comments:
At my place in Redwood, about one kilometre from the transformer, the power suddenly went off about 6.45pm. It was pitch black. A candle and torch provided some illumination, but you really can't do a whole lot in the evening without light. Looking out my window, I could see that much of the rest of Redwood was in darkness, so it had nothing to do with my power bill being overdue (which it wasn't).
Three quarters of an hour later and still in total darkness (apart from the limited light from the candle), I decided to head down to central Tawa which hadn't been affected by the blackout. I heard later that the power came on in my neighbourhood about 7.45pm. It was out in Redwood Village for apparently just a few minutes but, as the report above indicates, some lost it for several hours. Makes one appreciate what we mostly take for granted!
|
