Power Restored To Thousands In Pitcairn After 3 Transformers Fail
PITCAIRN (KDKA) - In the midst of frigid temperatures and subzero wind chills, thousands of customers lost power early Thursday morning in Pitcairn.
Three transformers blew at the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and Center Avenue. Nearly all of Pitcairn lost power. Approximately 3,000 people live in the borough.
"We all just slept in the same bed, body heat," Pitcairn resident Martha Griswold said.
As for Jaron Perry, he was walking around outside with a blanket wrapped around him.
"It's cold. Super cold," Perry said. "I couldn't even sleep it was so cold."
It was around 3 a.m. Thursday when three transformers blew.
"I heard the transformer exploded. I knew it was that. I thought it was going to be fixed by this morning and it wasn't," Perry said.
"It took roughly eight hours from the moment the outage began, which for us is an extraordinarily long period of time," Pitcairn Council President Jack Bova said.
Both the Borough of Pitcairn Electric Department and Duquesne Light responded to the scene. Pitcairn is one of a few municipalities in Pennsylvania that operates its own power distribution system.
"The power is actually transmitted through a variety of lines including Duquesne Light's lines as it gets into our town. We are dependent on them for transmission," Bova said.
The outage disabled traffic lights at the intersection of Broadway Boulevard and Center Avenue, too. A firefighter stood in the street all morning long directing traffic around fire trucks and power companies.
"Our guys do a great job. Get paid for it. Our guys rush to the scene immediately direct traffic because the light's on a main artery. Remarkable thing they do for people," Bova said.
An emergency warming center was opened in the Pitcairn Hose Co. 1 fire station, located at 100 Center Avenue.
Lisa Washington's Report:
Tearasha Higgs wasn't sure how long she'd be out of her home, so she packed two days of supplies for herself and her 3-month-old baby, Sefaira.
They waited in the Pitcairn warming center, while the power in town was out.
"I thought they were going to turn back on the lights, so we slept through it," said Higgs, "but when I woke up this morning, like five-something, it was freezing."
Coming to the warming center was the first trip Joan Morrow made out of her house, since returning from the nursing home three weeks ago.
"I'm freezing and I'm lying here and I don't hear no noise, or anything," said Morrow, "Could somebody please come get me out of this ice box?"
While electrical crews worked outside, residents enjoyed coffee and conversations in the warmth. Kevin Nelson said he heard the loud noises when the transformers exploded.
"Getting ready to play my game, first thing I heard was a boom, I goes out of my patio, I hear a second boom and first thing I thinking is our transformers were out," Nelson said.
Power was eventually restored around 9:30 a.m.
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