An electrical substation exploded in Old Swan this morning (Wednesday, September 2), with smoke billowing into the air and seen across the city. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was called to a blaze at an electrical substation in the car park of Rock Court Surgery, a doctors and walk-in centre on St Oswalds Street, at around 8.20am.
Pictures seen by the ECHO show a woman running away from the fire. A campervan parked next to the substation also caught fire and was left with massive scorch marks. Large plumes of smoke could be seen from Green Lane and Prescot Road.
Firefighters tackle blaze as crowd gathers
A large crowd gathered outside as firefighters tackled the blaze. All staff at the medical centre were evacuated and Scottish Power has been working to get the electrics inside the building back on with road closures still in place.
A fire service spokesperson said crews were alerted at 8.23am and arrived at the site nine minutes later, with three fire engines initially in attendance.
The spokesperson added: "Crews arrived to find a substation well alight after an explosion and a fire had spread to a vehicle. Fire crews wearing breathing apparatus are still fighting the fire with two hose reel jets and requested a representative from Scottish Power to attend."
Cordon in place and power cut
"St Oswalds Street has been closed between Edge Lane and Prescot Road. A 30-metre cordon is in place around the incident and fire crews will move to fully extinguish the fire once the sub-station is isolated."
"A nearby walk-in centre has lost power and has been evacuated. Merseyside Police is in attendance assisting with traffic management."
"A Scottish Power representative is now on scene and assessing the damage, one fire engine currently remains on scene, with a cordon still in place. Please avoid the area while the incident is ongoing."
Witnesses describe the scene
One woman close to the scene of the fire at the time said: "At 8.15am we heard a bang. The whole substation was on fire. There was smoke everywhere.
"It was quite scary, especially given it was so close to the cars. We thought they were going to go up in flames. A campervan was torched."
"The fire service was there in 10 minutes and the road was closed. It was put out by about 8.40am. The walk-in centre and GP surgery have been evacuated, they're waiting for Scottish Power to get the power back on."
A man who works close to the scene confirmed he saw the smoke rising into the air. He said: "Two fire engines were there. I believe it was some electrical units which went on fire. It wasn't as serious as people are making out. It was attended to very quickly."
The ECHO has approached Rock Court Surgery and Scottish Power for comments.
