THE cause of a fire at a substation on the former Cockenzie Power Station site has now been revealed.
On Sunday at 3.54pm, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service sent four fire engines to the substation, on the south side of the B1348 Edinburgh Road, while Police Scotland assisted with traffic.
ScottishPower, which owns the substation, confirmed that it was not treating the fire as suspicious and it was instead started by a fault on a cable in the substation.
A spokesperson for SP Energy Networks said: “There was a fault on a cable in the substation with no further damage.
"We’re not treating this as suspicious.”
East Lothian Council took to social media to warn people to stay away from the area while the incident was ongoing on Sunday.
A spokesperson for the local authority said on Monday: “On Sunday afternoon, we were informed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service of an incident at a substation at Cockenzie.
"Emergency services were in attendance to deal with the matter and the council issued public information advising the public to stay away from the area as a precaution.
"A short while later, we were informed that the matter had been resolved, although emergency services remained on site at that time and we issued a further public message to this effect.”
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 3.54pm on Sunday to reports of a fire at Cockenzie Substation.
"Operations Control mobilised four fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene, where a fire was affecting a transmission substation.
"Crews left the scene after ensuring the area was made safe."
A spokesperson for Prestonpans Community Council said: "Like our neighbours in Cockenzie, residents of Prestonpans were alarmed by the fire at the brownfield site on Preston Links on Sunday.
"As ever, our Community Council sends a huge thank you to the emergency services for their speedy attendance and handling of the incident, and we look forward to learning more about the cause as information becomes available.
"The episode will, however, inevitably only add to growing community concerns about future potential industrial uses for these extensive plots of former power station land that border so many hundreds of local homes in both communities."
Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council has been contacted for comment.
