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| Responding to Substation Incidents |
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| Utility substations are secured facilities containing transformers and other high-voltage equipment that pose significant electrical shock hazards and other risks to first responders. The chemicals present in substation equipment —such as transformer oils and sulfuric acid—make fires in these facilities especially dangerous. |
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| Do Not Enter! |
| If you arrive at a substation incident before NIPSCO, contact us and remain outside all locked doors, gates and fenced areas. Under no circumstances should you enter the substation before NIPSCO personnel arrive. While you wait for our personnel, take these precautions: |
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If equipment is burning, let it burn. Burning electrical equipment is already ruined and will be replaced. Do not risk injury to protect equipment that will not be repaired. |
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Use a 30-degree fog spray at 100 psi to protect exposures and prevent fire from spreading. Do NOT direct water into the substation. |
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Be alert for overhead power lines. Use nonconductive ladders and tools, carry them parallel to the ground and keep them below shoulder level to avoid contact with overhead facilities. |
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Isolate the area at least 300 feet in all directions. Keep unauthorized persons away. |
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Be alert for transformer explosions, smoke hazards and oil releases. Stay upwind and consider initial downwind evacuation for at least 1,000 feet. |
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Monitor for oil runoff; direct it away from catch basins or surface waters. |
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| Respond Conservatively to Substation Fires |
| Resist the natural impulse toward aggressive action. Enter a substation ONLY if specifically directed to do so by your incident commander and AFTER NIPSCO confirms that equipment has been de-energized. |
| With equipment de-energized, a transformer oil fire can be extinguished by using protein foam and water fog sprays. Never use a solid stream of water on oil, as it can spread the fire. Report all oil releases to the incident commander and NIPSCO, and follow standard tactics for a hazardous materials response. |
| Would You Like to Know More? |
| Additional utility safety tips, case studies, instructional videos and educational tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on NIPSCO's First Responder Beware website. |
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