The Bermuda Electric Light Company fire in July delivered a stark reminder of how dependent Bermuda is on a stable supply of electric power.

It is already clear that the fire and the subsequent closure of Hamilton businesses caused severe dislocation, and may have hurt the Island's reputation as a leading financial business centre with a first class infrastructure.

With that in mind, the release of the independent inquiry into the fire and subsequent blackout contains some disquieting conclusions.

Belco does deserve credit for both commissioning the inquiry and for making the results public. It could ? although it would have been a public relations debacle ? have attempted to keep the findings private. That it did not do so is to its credit.

The company and its staff also deserve praise for the rapid restoration of power after the fire and for its ability to maintain the supply with a distribution system that was severely damaged by the fire.

Nonetheless, the key finding of the inquiry appears to be that a fire suppression system in the switch house where the fire first broke out had been deliberately turned off, which meant it was likely that the fire was much worse than it would have been.

According to yesterday's press conference, that fire suppression system, which uses a form of noxious gas to suffocate a fire, was disabled because it was going off spontaneously when maintenance staff were working on it, making it dangerous for them to remain in the building.

With the benefit of hindsight, it would have made more sense to replace the system rather than turn it off.

The fire itself seems to have been caused because the protection around the switch, or busbar, had deteriorated. According to the independent inspectors, this equipment was "historic" and of a kind no longer in use in the UK.

It seems unlikely that the deterioration would have been spotted during routine maintenance, although the inspectors have said other forms of testing might have detected it. With hindsight, it begs the question of why this equipment was not already replaced.

The fire then burned ? at temperatures of up to 660 degrees Centigrade (sufficient to vaporise aluminium) ? and spread to the next switchgear room where the blaze set off the protection systems which then shut down the power stations generators, as they should have.

It seems clear that if the fire suppression system in the switching room where the fire first broke out had been working, the effects of the blaze would have been much reduced, although it is unlikely they would have been eliminated.

The inquiry contains a raft of recommendations that Belco has said it will implement.

Belco, as a monopoly and as the supplier perhaps Bermuda's most important service, has a special and privileged position in the Bermuda economy and in the community.

It needs to implement the recommendations and safeguard the Island's power supply if it is to regain the community's confidence.