Oficirac Fire Cuts Power to Novi Sad Water Source

A brush and forest fire broke out last night near Oficirac beach, on the Srem side of Novi Sad, in the Petrovaradin municipality. The fire was reported at around 7:30 p.m. on September 9. According to reports from the scene, the flames spread across a large area of low vegetation and forest land. Smoke and fire were visible from much of the city well into the late evening.

Every available unit of the Novi Sad Fire Brigade responded to the blaze. Local volunteer fire brigades joined in, along with firefighters from the oil company NIS, who worked alongside the professional crews on site. The exact number of firefighters deployed was not officially disclosed, but field reports described their presence as substantial. Strong wind made the firefighting effort even harder, pushing the flames toward more densely vegetated terrain and slowing crews down.

Novi Sad Mayor Zarko Micin activated city services as soon as the first report of the fire came in. The city’s volunteer fire brigades and the Novi Sad Fire Brigade units had already been mobilized. Water utility tankers were also sent to the site to provide extra water for the firefighting effort. Police secured the affected area, and residents were kept back from a barrier point near Oficirac beach.

Fire knocks out power to a water source

Because of how close the fire came, firefighting services ordered a transformer station on Petrovaradinska Ada to be shut down. The call was made while crews were battling the flames right next to the facility, to keep people and equipment on site safe.

The power outage also hit the Petrovaradinska Ada water source, which draws power from the same substation. The entire capacity of that source, around 600 liters of water per second, went offline as a result.

Novi Sad’s water utility, JKP Vodovod i Kanalizacija, described the scale of the outage in a statement:

“The entire capacity of this water source, which is around 600 liters of water per second, is currently out of service.”

That is the full output of the Petrovaradinska Ada source, which supplies part of Novi Sad’s water network. The utility warned residents to expect possible pressure fluctuations and interruptions in the distribution network until the substation is back online. It said it was monitoring the situation on the ground and would keep residents informed of any changes.

Fire brought under control, crews remain on site

Tanjug reported at 9:35 p.m. that the fire was under control, though fire crews were still arriving at the scene. Local outlet nsreporter carried the same update at around the same time, noting that a large number of firefighters remained on site. Just over two hours had passed between the initial report and that update. Firefighters were working to stop the fire from spreading toward more densely populated parts of the city and to fully contain the burn area before pulling out.

No injuries have been reported so far. The cause of the fire is not yet known, and the relevant authorities have not issued a statement on it.

As of this morning, there has been no announcement on when the Petrovaradinska Ada transformer station will be switched back on, or when the water source there will return to its full capacity of 600 liters per second. Residents who rely on that source should still expect possible pressure changes and occasional interruptions until the water utility announces that the fault has been fixed.