Overview
- A large fire began at the TenneT distribution station in Meeden on Saturday evening and started in a transformer while no staff were on site.
- Firefighters faced unusual hazards because large volumes of flammable cooling oil were stored in below‑ground cellars that were not safely accessible, so parts of the blaze were initially allowed to burn under controlled conditions while nearby equipment was cooled.
- Authorities escalated the incident to GRIP 2 and deployed specialist teams, drones and a blusrobot, issued an NL‑Alert, and advised residents to keep windows and ventilation closed and to wash or discard soot‑contaminated produce.
- After crews removed part of the façade and used foam in a targeted daytime operation on Monday, the fire was brought under control and declared extinguished and the site was handed over to TenneT with no local power outages thanks to rerouting.
- Next steps include on‑site inspections, environmental and health monitoring, a scheduled public information meeting, and an ongoing investigation into the fire’s cause while cleanup and recovery proceed.