Heathrow’s North Hyde fire exposes hidden vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure

By Chris Glover 2025-12-15T07:00:00

Human decisions often drive system failures, yet both the Heathrow substation fire report and the government’s energy resilience plans overlooked this, says Chris Glover at Buro Happold

When there’s a failure, people’s first response is to blame equipment. That was the case after fire broke out at the North Hyde electricity substation in west London, cutting supply to Heathrow Airport and more than 70,000 customers.

But quite often the heart of the problem is not equipment, it’s people. Failing equipment is the result of human failing.

Already registered? Login here

To continue enjoying Building.co.uk, sign up for free guest access

Existing subscriber? LOGIN

Stay at the forefront of thought leadership with news and analysis from award-winning journalists. Enjoy company features, CEO interviews, architectural reviews, technical project know-how and the latest innovations.

Limited access to building.co.uk
Breaking industry news as it happens
Breaking, daily and weekly e-newsletters

Get your free guest access SIGN UP TODAY

Subscribe now for unlimited access

Subscribe to Building today and you will benefit from:

Unlimited access to all stories including expert analysis and comment from industry leaders
Our league tables, cost models and economics data
Our online archive of over 10,000 articles
Building magazine digital editions
Building magazine print editions
Printed/digital supplements

Subscribe now for unlimited access.

View our subscription options and join our community