There isn’t any fire jetting out of any of the 3 transformers. Blatantly coming from the cross arm below them. Just a helluva lot of current vaporizing the wood.
Only if there is an overload..... that intermittent, secondary short to ground isn't enough current to blow the fuses on those big transformers. They can put out 100's if not 1,000 Amps, depending on voltage and still not be overloaded.
Probably oil; most transformers use it as a coolant and an insulator, but it also burns nicely if something flashes over. That's why electricity is so expensive, they charge extra for the light show :)
Transformers can spew fire because they use mineral oil as a conductor and coolant. Under certain conditions, when there is a leak and the temperature is high enough, ignition can occur. A very high voltage can produce a high enough temperature, and it is enough for it to be at one point.
Had one pop in the space behind me house when I was a kid. Fortunately I wasn't looking directly at it or I probably would have had some eye damage. The flash was so bright that it overwhelmed midday Texas summer sun. The boom was incredible. The cover for the primary connections was gone and smoke was billowing. It took almost a week to clear the brush to get in there to change the transformer. The lineman told me it was another attack by Cyber Squirrel 1.
I happened to see a pole transformer do this at night once. It was scary but at the same time spectacular because of all unbelievable colors that were emitted!
This is what happen when you only rely on primary side fuses and don't have secondary side fuses. In Europe, Asia and The Middle East all distribution transformer has primary and secondary fuses.
Bet that Snap-On guy regrets parking there. If the shop had a welding blanket, he probably could have safely gotten to it and moved it. Or, just leave it and hope for an insurance payout.
Firstly, my first call would be to 911, since they should be able to get in immediate contact with the utility to get that line shut down before it starts an actual fire or explodes. Secondly, I'll see yall in 8 years when this video inevitably blows up (pun intended)
For those of you concerned about the clouds of smoke…don’t worry. That electricity was produced from renewable energy sources, so it probably smelled like a baby’s skin smothered in a unicorn’s farts.
