Fire at SGB-SMIT Pretoria plant
A fire has occurred at a transformer plant run by SGB-SMIT in Pretoria, South Africa.
On Sunday, 7 March 2021, at approximately 16h30, a fire was reported and extinguished at the SGB-SMIT POWER MATLA (SSPM) Pretoria West plant. The Test Board team was in the process of performing a temperature rise test on one of the units when a fire started.
An investigation is presently underway to determine root causes, corrective actions and future preventative measures. The initial cause is an incipient fire that could not be safely extinguished by the team on-site on Sunday, which occurred whilst performing their testing duties.
All employees that directly worked in the affected section were immediately and safely evacuated to the emergency outdoor assembly safe area while immediate power sources to the building and supply of fuel sources to the affected section of the plant were isolated by SSPM staff.
The City of Tshwane Fire Brigade and the City of Tshwane emergency services were immediately called for assistance. The fire was successfully extinguished much later in the night. Furthermore, the plant was monitored till after midnight to respond to any secondary fires.
Upon the arrival of medical emergency service, employees underwent the usual vital monitoring checks. No injuries were recorded, nor was any environmental incident recorded or noted. All water and other liquid flow was contained in the existing plant bunding areas, without contamination to the municipal flows.
The factory is currently on lockout whilst the relevant authorities undertake and conclude their investigation.
The Cape Town distribution transformer plant is unaffected and continues with normal operations. The company has embarked on a business recovery plan to ensure operations can resume in Pretoria and has also engaged the various stakeholders involved.
Source: SSPM
Photo: SGB-SMIT
LinkedIn Partner
