Fire crews called out to fault on overhead network as hundreds lose power

FIREFIGHTERS were called out last night (Thursday) to a report of a power line fault.

More than 500 customers lost power as a result of the fault on the overhead network in the Scalloway area.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said crews extinguished a fire.

“We were alerted at 9.13pm on Thursday, May 23, to reports of a power fire on a farm near Scalloway,” they said.

“Operations control mobilised two fire appliances to the scene, where crews extinguished the fire.

“There were no casualties and crews left the scene after ensuring the area was made safe.”

An SSEN Distribution spokesperson said: “Shortly after 9pm on Thursday evening, a fault developed in part of our overhead line network in the Scalloway area.

“This caused supplies to be interrupted for just over 500 customers. We reconnected them around four hours after the fault occurred, and we’d like to thank them for their patience while we did this safely and quickly.

“A small fire was quickly extinguished by the actions of our system controller, and the damp conditions.

“A full repair has now been completed, and the damaged pole has been replaced by a new one.”

It follows reports of some other pole fires in Shetland in recent weeks.

The SSEN Distribution spokesperson added: “Running a safe electricity network is our number one priority, and we’d like to reassure customers we have a frequent, extensive maintenance programme which minimises the possibility of faults.”