Moscow Fire Cuts Heat for Residents in Sub-zero Temps

In Moscow, three districts were plunged into darkness and freezing temperatures as an electricity transformer substation caught fire on Thursday morning, Dec. 4. Residents in more than 20 high-rise buildings found themselves without electricity and heating in temperatures as low as minus-27.1 degrees Celsius (minus-17 Fahrenheit).

The fire broke out at a transformer substation on Vysokovolotny Proezd around 6 a.m., affecting homes in the Bibirevo, Otradnoye and Medvedkovo districts, as well as other areas, according to reports from the Mash Telegram channel.

Authorities in the Russian capital revealed that “most of the buildings have been switched to a backup power source after a fire at a substation in Moscow, and about 40 buildings will be switched in the next hour and a half to two hours.”

Multiple firefighting crews are currently on the scene, addressing the situation. The cause of the substation fire remains undisclosed.

Meteorologists noted that last night marked Moscow’s coldest since the onset of winter, with temperatures plummeting to minus 27.1 degrees Celsius. The power outage affected high-rise buildings in three Moscow districts.

Mash Telegram reported that temperatures inside the affected Moscow apartments have dropped to 10-15 degrees Celsius (50-59 Fahrenheit).