When the Lights Went Out: What the Hayes Fire Taught Us About Preparedness

The real emergency wasn't at the airport

Friday 21 March saw a fire breakout at a major substation in Hayes triggered widespread disruption across West London and resulted in Heathrow having to divert flights and close its doors to passengers.

Headlines covered the planes, the cancelled flights and stranded tourists. But the real emergency was on the ground. While cameras pointed at grounded planes, West London communities faced the actual crisis. 

• 5,000 homes plunged into darkness
• Families evacuated with nowhere to go
• GP surgeries running on backup power, then no power at all
• Vulnerable residents trapped in high-rises
• Community centers scrambling to create warmth

What REACT's Regional Leader saw

REACT Responders stood ready but were not deployed. Why? Because local communities and the voluntary sector stepped up brilliantly. 

"We have been closely monitoring this situation since the initial report. What we observed was both reassuring and concerning. Local authorities activated their protocols quickly," said REACT's Regional Leader for London, Victoria Fabris.

Community WhatsApp groups activate faster than official channels. This robust ground-level response meant the voluntary sector could step back and remain in reserve. It's exactly what resilience should look like - local communities as the first line of support, with organised Responders ready to reinforce when needed, not replaced.

UK Resilience: Myth vs. reality

We talk about national resilience. We create frameworks. We build systems. Then a single substation sets fire, and thousands are vulnerable within minutes.

If this is how we handle a localised power outage, how will we respond if London floods, or heatwaves overwhelm the grids for weeks not hours? Or if multiple systems fail. 

Climate change will make these questions real. So the question isn't whether major infrastructure failures will happen. They will. The question is whether communities are prepared for what comes next.

What REACT did and what REACT learned

REACT Responders didn't distribute a single water bottle during this emergency. We didn't need to. Local communities and the voluntary sector responded effectively, creating a powerful network of support.

We watched. We listened. We took notes. We saw the gaps that will widen during bigger emergencies:

• Vulnerable people without backup plans
• The fragility of just-in-time supply chains
• Hard choices about resource allocation

The next power outage might last days, not hours. It might cover counties, not neighbourhoods. And we'll be there. Ready to move. Ready to fill the gaps between what systems promise and what communities need.

Because resilience isn't about frameworks or policies. Because resilience isn't about frameworks or policies. Resilience is about preparing, coordination and the remarkable ability of the voluntary and community sector to rapidly communicate, share critical information, and support vulnerable people when challenges arise.