Fire in built environment

Police are investigating a fire and suspected break-in at power substations in Germany, adding to growing security concerns over a series of suspected sabotage attacks targeting the country’s power grid.
The fire broke out at a construction site in Berlin’s Mitte district early on Monday morning before spreading to a transformer substation, police said, The Independent reported.
Fire crews were brought in to tackle the blaze through the night while police investigators examined the site. It was not immediately clear what had caused the fire.
The incident occurred just hours after police in the western city of Wesel launched a major operation at the Niederrhein substation after finding ‘irregularities’ at the facility, including a hole cut in an exterior security fence, according to Bild.
A helicopter circled above the facility late on Sunday while police swept the area, the newspaper reported, adding that it was unclear whether any technical equipment had been damaged or tampered with.
The incidents followed an apparent attempt to short-circuit a grid transformer in Dormagen, near Dusseldorf, last week, and vandalism at a substation in nearby Bergheim, near Cologne.
In Dormagen, a passer-by spotted pipes fitted with cables and timers aimed at a substation. Police subsequently found two launch devices in the area.
Bild ​reported that suspected explosives ⁠or incendiary devices had also been found on overhead power lines at two substations in Saxony's Goerlitz district, prompting a police operation at facilities linked to the Lusatian lignite mining and power generation region.
News.Az