PECO Fire Leaves 2 Schools Closed, Thousands Without Power
BREAKING: Fire raging at a #PECO substation in Philadelphia. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/uCepcwRz5e
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) March 7, 2017
A PECO substation fire that broke out in North Philadelphia yesterday afternoon has left two schools closed and thousands without power this morning.
At one point yesterday, about 36,000 people were without power because of the fire, which started around 2 p.m. at the Hunting Park substation at 2634 W. Westmoreland Ave. in Tioga. Crews worked for hours to extinguish the blaze, shutting down the substation in the process.
The fire was brought under control around 5:30 p.m. yesterday, NBC10 reports, but about 3,600 customers were still without power as of 9 a.m. this morning, according to PECO’s outage map. As a result, the Philadelphia High School for Girls and the EW Rhodes Middle School are closed today.
News Release via @PHLschools: Philadelphia High School for Girls and EW Middle Rhodes School will be Closed Wednesday due to a Power Outage. pic.twitter.com/p6F4qk3IH6
— Philadelphia Office of Children and Families (@PHLfamilies) March 8, 2017
Several Temple University buildings were also affected yesterday, including the Health Sciences Center and Temple Towers residence hall. The Temple Administrative Services building was still closed as of this morning.
TU Alert update: Due to power outage, TASB closed tomorrow morning. Supervisors will contact TASB employees with further instructions.
— Temple University (@TempleUniv) March 8, 2017
PECO officials told 6ABC that power is expected to be restored by noon today. It’s not yet clear what caused the fire.
Now that it's lighter, you can get better look at damage from Peco substation fire that caused thousands of outages. pic.twitter.com/wGMbzh0H9Q
— Katherine Scott (@KScott6abc) March 8, 2017
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