Cause of Mid Valley fire believed to be overheated cooling oil, says Bomba

KUALA LUMPUR: The fire at the main power substation at Mid Valley City here is believed to have occurred after oil meant to cool the electrical transformer overheated and ignited.

City Fire and Rescue Department assistant director (operations) M Fatta M Amin said that based on initial checks, there were 12,400 litres of cooling oil used to cool the transformer.

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"This cooling oil has a flash point of 137°C," he told reporters at the scene on Wednesday (May 17).

The flash point is when a liquid releases enough vapours into the air to produce a flammable mixture.

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"In total, 45 personnel as well as three fire engines, two emergency medical rescue services vehicles, rapid intervention motorcycles, two water tankers and an aerial ladder platform were deployed to the scene," he said.

He said the affected building was isolated and was one of four power substations there.

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"When one caught fire, we had to employ offensive firefighting measures to extinguish it.

"We also had to use defensive methods to ensure that the other substations in the building did not catch fire as well," he said.

He said the fire was brought under control by 12.07pm and was completely extinguished at 12.44pm.

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"We then sent a team into the building to ensure the fire would not reignite.

"We also sent a team into the mall to make sure that the fire did not affect its structure," he said, adding that based on initial checks, the substation supplied power to buildings within a 10km radius.

Meanwhile, Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Amihizam Abdul Shukor said the fire caused a power outage in nearby areas.

"I have since been briefed by Tenaga Nasional Bhd representatives that power has been restored to most of these areas.

"Based on initial investigations, no foul play has been detected in this incident," he said, adding that no casualties were reported.