In Włocławek, a race against time is underway following a failure of the main heating pipeline, which has left approximately 50,000 people without heating. The problem affects nearly 60 percent of the city's area, including three large districts. The situation has forced authorities to take drastic steps, including canceling classes in educational institutions. Technical crews from the Municipal Heat Energy Company are working in emergency mode, striving to restore heat supplies to homes and public institutions.
Massive Lack of Heating
Approximately 50,000 residents of Włocławek, living in three key districts, have been deprived of heat and hot water supplies due to a rupture of the main pipe.
Closed Educational Institutions
Due to the failure, classes in schools and kindergartens in the affected area of the city were canceled on Tuesday February 17.
Difficult Pipeline Repair
The damaged Ø600 diameter pipe is located in an unfortunate spot, which slowed down work that began after 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday.
A critical failure of the heating network has occurred in Włocławek, affecting nearly 50,000 residents. A fault in the main pipe supplying heat to the city has cut off 60% of the area of Włocławek from utilities. The first reports of problems emerged on Monday February 16 in the evening, when the MPEC announced a switch to emergency mode. The location of the rupture in the Ø600 diameter pipe was only identified around midnight from Monday to Tuesday. Repair work, preceded by hours of preparations, began on Tuesday at 5:00 a.m. Specialists indicate that the damage occurred in an exceptionally unfortunate location, significantly hindering the progress of the work. Aging heating infrastructure in Polish cities, often built in the 1970s and 1980s, requires regular modernization to prevent failures resulting from material fatigue and pipe corrosion.Faced with the lack of heating, city authorities decided to close schools and kindergartens on Tuesday February 17. This decision was driven by concern for children's health, as temperatures in the underheated buildings were too low for conducting classes. The City President is personally overseeing the work of the crisis staff. Residents of the three main districts have been asked for patience while technical crews work to weld the damaged section of the pipeline as quickly as possible. The situation is being monitored by the services of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivode, and the city declares readiness to provide assistance to the most needy citizens. 50 thousand — residents of Włocławek remain without heat The latest reports indicate that the priority is restoring hot water to hospitals and social care homes before fully reactivating the residential network. Although the location of the pipe rupture has been discovered, the scale of the damage required bringing in specialized equipment. Residents report rapidly dropping temperatures in their homes, which, given the February weather, poses a serious challenge for municipal services. Full repair of the fault is expected by the evening hours, but the process of refilling and reheating the network may take several additional hours. „The cause of the failure is a rupture of the Ø600 pipe supplying heat to the majority of consumers in the city.” — City Hall Statement 2026-02-16T19:00: 0, 2026-02-16T21:00: 50, 2026-02-17T09:00: 50, 2026-02-17T13:00: 50