Heathrow fireplace replace as police say whether or not they consider incident was ‘suspicious’ or not
The fire brigade will look at electrical equipment involved in the fire after the Metropolitan Police said it was not treating the incident as ‘suspicious’ in a statement
A major fire that shut down Heathrow Airport and sparked global travel chaos is not being treated as suspicious, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
Hundreds of thousands of travellers faced massive disruption after fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport caused a power outage on Thursday night. Counter terror cops had been leading the investigation into the fire and while that probe “remains in its early stages”, the Met Police said it was not being treated as suspicious.
London Fire Brigade’s investigation will now focus on the electrical equipment, officials said. Met Police Commander Simon Messinger said: “The investigation into the cause of the fire remains in its early stages. After initial assessment, we are not treating this incident as suspicious, although inquiries do remain ongoing.
“Due to the location of the substation and the impact this incident has had on critical national infrastructure, the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are leading our inquiries into this matter.
“This is due to the specialist resources and capabilities within that command that can assist in progressing this investigation at pace and to help minimise disruption and identify the cause.
“Officers are working closely with a number of local partners, including the London Fire Brigade, National Grid and SSEN to build a picture of the circumstances surrounding the fire.
“Various specialist investigators continue to examine the scene and it is expected to take some time before full assessments can be completed.
“Officers will continue to work alongside colleagues on the investigation, but as we have stated above, at this stage, there remains no indication of any foul play.”
In a statement on Friday evening, the fire brigade’s deputy commissioner Jonathan Smith said: “London Fire Brigade Fire Investigation Officers, supported by a scientific adviser, have been working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to investigate the cause of this fire.
“The MPS has confirmed that the fire is believed to be non-suspicious. LFB’s investigation will now focus on the electrical distribution equipment.
“The Brigade is the enforcing authority for the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and has therefore had Fire Safety Officers at the scene to follow up various lines of enquiry, and work will continue into the coming weeks.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Firefighters and Control officers for their courage and professionalism in bringing this incident under control in what were very challenging circumstances.”
Flights resumed from Heathrow Airport on Friday as its chief executive apologised to stranded passengers and defended the response to an “unprecedented” loss of power caused by a substation fire.
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