Dry Chemical Grenades Used by St. Paul, MN, Firefighters at Vehicle Fire Sparked by Electrical Surge
Pioneer Press
(TNS)
An apparent attempted theft of copper cable led to an electrical surge, falling power lines and a vehicle fire in St. Paul, according to the fire department.
No injuries were reported, but St. Paul Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith said it was a dangerous situation. Power was out in the area as a result.
The attempted theft of copper cable from a vault happened in the parking lot at the former Sears on Rice Street off Interstate 94 after 10:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Smith. Crews found a nearby manhole had a ladder coming out of it and wires were exposed.
“The evidence pointed towards somebody was down there, tampering or removing copper,” Smith said. “… Whatever was going on in the manhole area caused the explosion, the failing of the transformer.”
The result was an electrical surge, which caused failures in powerlines on Western Avenue on both sides of I-94, at St. Anthony and Concordia avenues.
Energized powerlines fell on a minivan, which was parked and unoccupied, and started it on fire on Concordia Avenue near Western Avenue. There was a risk of electrocution, so firefighters needed to confirm with Xcel Energy that power to the area was out before extinguishing the vehicle fire, Smith said.
City Council Member Anika Bowie described the situation on social media as an “extremely loud explosion that shook the Rondo area.”
Callers reported multiple vehicles on fire, said Alyssa Arcand, a St. Paul police spokeswoman. Firefighters found one vehicle on fire; a second vehicle fire was reported, but the vehicle was moved and wasn’t affected, Smith said.
St. Paul police investigators are working with Xcel Energy and St. Paul Fire to determine the fire’s cause. No one was immediately arrested, Arcand said.
The incident is a reminder that electricity can be deadly, Smith said.
“Tampering with electrical components, including copper wires, can kill you and innocent bystanders,” he added.
Power was initially out for about 400 Xcel customers in the area. On Monday morning, Xcel crews were “continuing to conduct repairs … to restore power for the remaining 74 customers,” which was completed at 1:30 p.m., said Kevin Coss, Xcel Energy spokesman.
St. Paul Public Works is reminding residents to be on the lookout for people who may be tampering with public or private infrastructure, and to call police right away.
Public Works, which repairs streetlights after copper wire is stolen, has a backlog from last year because they can’t replace wire during the winter due to frozen conduits, according to a Public Works spokesperson. They’ll be working on repairs in the spring, which is also a time when thefts typically increase.
Goose causes Eagan power outage
There also was a power outage in Eagan on Sunday afternoon, unrelated to the St. Paul incident.
A goose flew into powerlines in the area of Nicols Road and Carnelian Lane, and Xcel Energy believes the “animal contacting the power lines caused electricity to arc between wires that normally do not touch,” Coss said, adding he was told there was a small fire near the pole’s base. He said firefighters were able to quickly contain it.
About 1,200 customers lost power after 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Power was restored to everyone in the area by about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Coss said.
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