Transformer fire closes part of Payne Avenue in Rockland, Maine

What happened

On 13 April 2023, Rockland Fire Department was called at 5.10pm to a transformer on fire on a utility pole outside Maritime Energy on Park Street in Rockland. Flames at the top of the pole dropped sparks to the ground. Fire crews closed part of the road between Park Street and Payne Avenue and waited for Central Maine Power linesmen. The first linesman to reach the pole by bucket ladder could not put the flames out with an extinguisher.

A second linesman, working from another angle, smothered the fire with a different extinguisher. Firefighters returned to station at 6.20pm. Power outages were reported near the Walmart junction in Thomaston; the account said the Rockland fire might have been the cause, which is not confirmed here.

Lessons learned

1. A pole-mounted transformer fire can drop sparks and force a road closure until the utility can reach the equipment.
2. The first extinguisher applied from a bucket may not put the fire out; a second approach should be ready.
3. Outages reported some distance away should be treated as possibly related until the utility confirms the link.

Source

penbaypilot.com