Animal Ignites Fire Depriving 14,000 Floridians of Power

July 24, 2006
It did not survive the fire

About 14,000 customers in northeast Miami-Dade County and extreme southern Broward County woke up without power Sunday after a fire damaged a substation in Miami.

An animal somehow got into the substation on Northeast 10th Street, setting off the fire and outage at 6:18 a.m., said Florida Power & Light Co. spokeswoman Pat Davis.

Officials didn't know what kind of animal was the culprit. It did not survive the fire.

Power was restored to more than 80 percent of those affected by 4 p.m., with the remaining customers expected back online by 5 p.m. Sunday, Davis said.

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