Dutch radio/TV transmissions disrupted by two fires

On Friday, fire broke out in separate incidents at two major radio/TV transmission towers at IJsselstein (Lopik) and Hoogersmilde (Drenthe). The intense heat that developed in the 200 metre high steel mast at Hoogersmilde proved costly. The mast gave way and collapsed at around 1530 hours with a thundering roar. Fortunately, nobody was injured, as firefighters had vacated the area shortly before the collapse due to the heat.

After the Hoogersmilde incident Novec, which owns both towers, decided to take the IJsselstein site off the air as a precaution. The company says there has never been a fire at a domestic transmitting station in the Netherlands and added that two incidents on the same day raise many questions.

At the moment, parts of the Netherlands can no longer receive terrestrial FM and television signals, and this affects both commercial and public stations. Reception at home via cable systems is not affected. The telecommunication networks also have problems. A search is now under way to find alternative locations for broadcasting the public networks, and possibly some commercial stations, on a temporary basis. It’s possible that some parts of the reception area could be served as soon as this weekend, said a spokesman.

Novec is investigating the causes of both fires. It’s still unclear whether there is a connection between the two incidents, but a spokesman for Broadcast Partners said that isn’t an issue. The mast at Hoogersmilde will be out of use for a long time, but it’s not yet known how quickly the Lopik site can be put back into service.

In the meadows around the Hoogersmilde site, in a sparsely populated area, the remains of the steel structure are still smoldering. An area within a radius of 300 metres around the tower has been evacuated.

As a consequence of the signal disruption, the mediumwave transmitter on 747 kHz that normally carries Radio 5 is now carrying the national news/talk network Radio 1 until further notice. This network is designated as the one which carries official announcements in the case of a national emergency, so it has priority.

(Source: ANP via Media Network Weblog)