HARTFORD, Connecticut — Thousands in Downtown Hartford experienced power outages Wednesday morning, including FOX61.
Eversource reported that as of 6:30 a.m., just over 9,000 customers were without power. The power loss affected some buildings and streetlights in the Capitol Avenue and Broad Street area of the city as well as downtown, including Pearl Street. As of 9:45 a.m., the number has reduced to just over 1,000.
In a statement sent to FOX61, Eversource says they are working to restore power to the rest of the affected customers, but that due to the complexity of the underground system and the extent of the damage, restoration likely will not come until Wednesday afternoon.
According to Hartford fire officials, the outage stems from an underground electrical vault fire in the area of 55 Elm Street. Hartford Hospital was also on backup power following the outage.
The hospital issued a statement regarding the situation, confirming they were on generator power after both feeders into the hospital were shut down.
"As a result, we are currently operating on generator power. While most essential clinical functions are running, there are limitations like non-functioning elevators, garage gates, and public spaces," the hospital said in their statement. "We continue to assess the situation - hospital operations are currently operating normally and care to our patients is not affected."
Fire officials said Eversource had isolated the electrical vault, and fire crews were able to get in and douse the flames with dry chemical extinguishers. It's unknown what sparked the fire and how long the outage will last, officials said.
It's unknown when the power will be restored.
This is a developing story.
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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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