Police Identify Technical Cause of Fire on Šipan
Investigation at the Čemprjesi area confirms the fire was technical in nature, but HEP still claims it did not start inside their facility.
Investigation at the Čemprjesi area confirms the fire was technical in nature, but HEP still claims it did not start inside their facility.
The Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department has released the findings of the investigation conducted at the burned area of Čemprjesi on the island of Šipan. In cooperation with the fire prevention inspector, it was determined that the cause of the fire, which broke out on August 13 in the afternoon, was technical in nature.
The fire left all three Elafiti Islands without electricity for several hours. Firefighting teams from the Dubrovnik Public Fire Brigade, Slano Volunteer Fire Department, and Šipan Volunteer Fire Department participated in the extinguishing operation, supported by the vessels Orlando and the County Firefighting Association's boat, as well as two Canadair aircraft. From the very beginning, there was suspicion of a faulty electrical installation, as the fire started from HEP's transformer station located in a hard-to-reach part of the island.
While the police confirm the technical cause, the Croatian Electric Power Company (HEP) has issued a different account. In their statement, they detailed the chronology: a fault on the 10 kV cable between TS Orašac and KTS Koločep 1 (Gornje Čelo) occurred on Wednesday, August 12, at 8:20 AM, and was repaired the following day in the afternoon.
During the repair, the Elafiti Islands were powered by an alternative 10 kV overhead line, Čemprjesi-Šipan Polje, which HEP claims was fully operational at the time. On Thursday, August 13, at 4:18 PM, that very line went out of service, and simultaneously, a fire broke out near the Čemprjesi cable cabinet.
"The cause of the fire has not yet been confirmed, but the fire did not originate inside HEP ODS's facility," HEP stated.
HEP added that the 10 kV line Čemprjesi-Šipan Polje was last regularly inspected in April 2026, and no defects were found at that time. Workers from DP Elektrojug Dubrovnik will re-inspect the line route as soon as firefighters grant access to the area.
The Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department notes that investigative actions are not yet fully completed, and they cannot disclose details about the measures being taken as part of the criminal investigation.
"Fire investigation is the most delicate criminal investigation, requiring a multidisciplinary approach, and it is with that level of seriousness that the criminal processing of the fires that occurred in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County over the past week was approached," the police emphasized.
Due to significant public interest, the police have announced that they will release all findings once the criminal investigation is complete. The exact date of the press conference has not yet been announced.
