North Rhine-Westphalia: The fire brigade warns of the spread of smoke after a power failure

Cologne (dpa / lnw) - A large-scale power failure briefly paralyzed the south of Cologne on Wednesday night. At 2.45 a.m. there was a voltage drop for a short time due to a fault in an upstream network, said a spokesman for the responsible provider. He was initially unable to say how many households were affected by the power outage. According to the police, as a result of the failure, a flame was visible from afar in a refinery near Cologne. The fire brigade warned that their combustion smoke could cause odor nuisance and soot deposits throughout the city. Although there is no acute danger, citizens should keep the windows and doors closed and switch off the ventilation and air conditioning systems.