Three Injured in Major Fire at Auckland Vector Substation in Penrose

Penrose Substation Fire Injures Three and Triggers Auckland Power Cuts

Three Vector electrical workers sustained injuries—one seriously—during a maintenance incident that triggered a major fire and thick black smoke at an Auckland substation on McNab Street, 1News reported. Fire and Emergency New Zealand received the alert at 3:24 pm on Thursday, deploying 12 crews, three aerial appliances, and three special appliances to the two-storey building, which measures 20 metres by 40 metres.

Assistant District Commander Barry Thomas stated that the three crew members were performing maintenance when an incident occurred that appeared to have arced. The blaze generated a massive plume of smoke from transformer oil coolant, which drifted across the Southern Motorway and into nearby commercial and residential areas as the wind direction shifted.

Hospitalizations and Medical Responses

Hato Hone St John responded to the emergency at 3:29 pm with two ambulances and a rapid response unit, treating three patients at the scene. One patient suffered burns and was transported to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition, while two others were taken to Auckland City Hospital in moderate conditions.

Health New Zealand issued a public health alert advising residents sensitive to smoke—including young children, older adults, pregnant individuals, and those with heart or lung conditions—to keep doors and windows closed and set air conditioning systems to recirculate. Witnesses near the site reported flickering lights and a loud bang followed by a dense wall of black smoke as power failed.

Restoring electricity to thousands of affected customers

Vector reported that 7,000 customers initially lost power as a result of the substation fire. Crews utilized network switching to restore power to approximately 3,000 customers quickly, and by 7:30 pm, service had been restored to all but one customer in the affected areas.

Vector confirmed that an official investigation into the cause of the incident will be conducted.

Auckland Council Pollution Response and Environmental Containment

Auckland Council deployed its pollution response team and Healthy Waters personnel to manage an oil spill resulting from the fire-fighting runoff. Council team leader compliance Kevin Reeve stated that teams were working alongside the Harbourmaster and Fire and Emergency New Zealand to determine the extent of the discharge into local drains and the harbour.

Fire crews maintained a presence through the evening to monitor the facility for hot spots overnight.

Three workers injured during substation maintenance incident

What caused the maintenance incident at the Vector substation?

Fire and Emergency Assistant District Commander Barry Thomas stated that the facility’s three workers were carrying out maintenance when an incident occurred that appeared to have arced.

How many customers lost electricity during the Penrose fire?

Vector reported that 7,000 customers initially lost power due to the substation fire on McNab Street. Through network switching and repair work, power was restored to all but one customer by 7:30 pm on Thursday.

What environmental impact resulted from the substation fire?

Transformer oil coolant entered local drains during the emergency response, prompting the Auckland Council pollution response team and Healthy Waters staff to investigate and mitigate potential runoff into the harbour alongside the Harbourmaster.