Local residents heard ‘massive explosion’ before fire which shut down Heathrow
Thousands of homes have been left without power and more than 100 people were evacuated following the fire.
Residents have described hearing a “massive explosion” after a fire at an electrical substation in west London which caused the country’s largest airport to close.
More than 200,000 passengers have had their flights to or from Heathrow cancelled on Friday after the airport announced it would be closed until 11.59pm as a result of the disruption.
Some 67,000 homes were left without power overnight and more than 100 people were evacuated after a transformer within the North Hyde electrical substation in Hayes caught on fire.
Matthew Muirhead was working a night shift on Thursday when he noticed smoke rising from the electrical substation.
“We saw a bright flash of white and all the lights in town went out,” the 42-year-old told the PA news agency.
“It was 11.30pm when we saw it, we were heading to West Drayton, so we went to check it out, we heard the sirens as we were headed to Bulls Bridge roundabout.
“We saw a bright flash of white and all the lights in town went out.
“My wife rang me and told me our electric was out – I found out a few hours later that Heathrow was completely shut down.”
A resident living in the Hayes area who did not want to be named told the PA news agency she heard a “massive explosion” just before midnight.
“All the power went off, it just smelled like burning,” she said, adding it was difficult to work out where exactly the fire was.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 29 people were safely evacuated from neighbouring properties following the blaze, while a further 150 people were evacuated to a rest centre.
Around 10% of the substation remains alight and 5,000 homes remain without power.
There are no issues with air quality in the area and no further safety concerns are expected for members of the public, LFB’s deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said.
The service had earlier warned residents to keep windows and doors closed because of significant smoke.
Hillingdon Council said on Friday morning that most evacuees have dispersed and made their own arrangements.
It said it is assisting 12 people with hotel accommodation until it is safe to return home.
One secondary school, three primary schools and two nurseries have been shut, according to the local authority.
Nestles Avenue Early Years Centre, Pinkwell Children’s Centre, Pinkwell Primary School, Dr Triplett’s C of E Primary School, and The Global Academy are all closed.
Botwell House Catholic Primary School was closed but will reopen on Friday afternoon.
The London Ambulance Service said there had been no casualties or anyone treated for injuries at the scene of the fire.
Hazardous area response teams and an incident response officer are currently on the scene, they said.
“We are currently supporting emergency services colleagues at the scene of a fire in Hayes,” a spokesperson said.
“Please try to avoid the area and, if you live nearby, stay indoors and keep windows closed.”
