Transformer Fire Cuts Power to Apartment Buildings

While Warminster fire crews responded to a on the west side of the township, an underground transformer fire on the other side of town at the Jefferson on the Creek apartment complex drew engines from surrounding municipalities.

The call went out at 7:14 p.m., with departments from Hatboro, Upper Southampton, Warrington and Willow Grove arriving on the scene. According to Warminster Fire Chief Mitch Shapiro, the blaze could not be extinguished until PECO cut the power to the transformer.

After a service truck arrived at 7:30 p.m., the fire was smothered with dry chemicals and under control within ten minutes, Shapiro said. The fire burnt some bricks on the side of building 300, but none of the interior units were damaged and no injuries were reported.

A PECO worker on the scene said that an adjacent building served by the same transformer would have its power restored within the hour, but it could take all night for building 300 to get up and running.