Plunging the town into darkness.

Arson investigation launched after a fire broke out on an electric transformer

France Bleu/Le Progrès, May 7, 2025

A fire broke out in Saint-Chamond, on the route de Saint-Étienne, just before 3am on Wednesday May 7, at the entrance to the town just off the RN88. On arrival, emergency services were initially confronted with a fire in a cable duct, but the flames quickly spread to an electrical station, responsible for converting high-voltage electricity into low-voltage. A transformer covering several hundred square meters was affected, leaving part of the town without power.

According to Enedis, up to 3,000 households were plunged into darkness in Saint-Chamond and Sorbiers [and how many businesses?] By mid-morning, several hundred remained without power, as Augustin Montoussé, Director of Enedis Loire, explains: “We have restored power to around 90% of customers on the network, both by remote control and on site. There are still around twenty substations to be re-supplied, which will require the presence of around twenty generators. For a town like Saint Chamond, which is fairly densely populated, we need generators of considerable power, which we have to be able to route and connect in complete safety. So it takes time.”

In the afternoon, the mayor of Saint-Chamond stated in a press release that the Saint-Étienne public prosecutor’s office had “opened an arson investigation, entrusted to the organized crime division of the Saint-Étienne judicial police”.

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sansnom Translated by Act for freedom now!