'Very old' transformer failed and started Heathrow substation fire

Have YOU been affected by the closure? 220,000 people were due to pass through the airport on Friday Firefighters extinguish the fire at the North Hyde electrical substation, which caught fire Thursday night and lead to a closure of Heathrow Airport in London Heathrow said in a statement the airport's back-up energy systems worked 'as expected' when the substation fire started. A tearful stranded couple at Heathrow T5 this morning A passenger at Heathrow T5 this morning after fire at an electrical substation knocked out power Heathrow Airport has been closed on Friday due to a large blaze at a nearby substation The fire has knocked out power to the airport and 16,300 homes in west London Dramatic images show flames tearing through the structure as smoke billows into the night sky Firefighters douse the remainder of a fire that broke out at a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport in Hayes, west London The fire appears to now be out but Heathrow will be closed all day Around 220,000 people were due to travel through Heathrow today and the chaos from the complete closure will rumble on over the weekend and into next week because aircraft and passengers are now in the wrong place all over the world. A firefighter helps putting out a fire that broke out at a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport today Sharon Towers and her husband sent this picture of them stuck in China today The London Fire Brigade said in a statement that crews would remain at the scene of the fire 1.5miles north of Heathrow Airport throughout the night Travellers are seen stuck inside a terminal at Heathrow as hundreds of flights are cancelled More than 16,300 homes in west London are also suffering from blackouts as the fire at the electrical substation continues to rage Travellers are facing travel chaos has Heathrow airport is shut down due to a fire. A Heathrow spokesperson said: 'Heathrow is experiencing a significant power outage across the airport due to a large fire at a nearby electrical substation' One witness told LBC: 'I was crossing a bridge and there was a huge explosion' Roughly 150 people have been evacuated from the area and a 200-metre cordon has been put in place as a precaution In a further statement around 3am, the fire brigade warned: 'Crews remain at the scene of the fire in #Hayes - please continue to keep windows & doors closed due to smoke & avoid the area.