T&TEC sub-station explodes

FOR SEVERAL hours yesterday, thousands of residents and businessmen from Rio Claro were without electricity after a fire of unknown origins gutted TTEC’s Rio Claro sub-station, located at Railway Road, Rio Claro, immediately knocking out electrical power to the surrounding environs and leaving in its wake, over one million dollars in damage.

In an immediate response, local electricity provider Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (TTEC) organised a forensic team to determine the cause of the blaze. However, TTEC area manager Gregory David stressed to Newsday that sabotage had been ruled out. The fire which caused an explosion that shook the Railway Road community around 7.15 am, sent residents, especially children scampering from their homes in fear. Many children, who were preparing for school when the building went up in flames, were too scared and shaken to attend classes. Motorists also faced a dilemma since the gas stations in the area could not provide the vital fuel, because the pumps were powered by electricity. The sub-station serviced all of Rio Claro and environs including Libertville and Biche. Mostly affected though, were residents who lived in the Railway Road district, where the sub-station was based. Up to late yesterday TTEC employees were still trying to restore electricity to residents in that area.

Speaking to Newsday on the scene of the fire yesterday, David explained that TTEC’s initial investigations pointed to a fault on the switch-board gear, which may have caused the blaze. David said he contacted the manufacturers of the switch board UK-based Reyrolle, for more information on the equipment. David said he did not know how soon the sub-station would be rebuilt and in the interim, assured that electricity from neighbouring sub-stations would be re-routed to Rio Claro to supply affected residents. He added that so far, they had not received any reports from residents about damaged appliances, but TTEC would still contact their insurance brokers to discuss issues of liability and compensation.

The incident has sparked angry reactions from the Railway Road residents who claimed they had been lobbying for the removal of the sub-station, having cited it as a hazard to their community. “This is not the first time something like this has happened. About two years ago, the wires leading to people’s homes caught fire and burned out,” Louis Johnny a TTEC retiree told Newsday.  “Plenty people are going to lose their stuff and Christmas is right ‘round the corner, TTEC must compensate us,” he declared. Another resident, Natasha Small, said she was asleep when she heard a loud explosion and when she opened her eyes she saw a ball of fire near her home. Small said the “breaker box” in her bedroom exploded and all her lights went out. Another female resident Tricia Benjamin said she was with her 11-month-old daughter Dacia, when she heard a loud buzzing sound and saw high flames hovering over a tree. “My daughter was frightened by the sight and started crying. All the children in the community were frightened. They were crying and running out of their homes,” Benjamin recalled. Responding to the fire were officers of the Rio Claro Fire Service and Rio Claro police, who are continuing investigations.