Three South Portland firefighters were training with a new $1.1 million ladder truck Tuesday morning when they accidentally hit a power line with the truck’s aerial, according to a statement released by City Manager Scott Morrelli Tuesday night.
The contact with the electrical line caused a fire to the truck’s front right tire and shorted the controls of the aerial, keeping the firefighters from moving the extendable ladder away from the line, Morrelli said. As a result, Central Maine Power Co. cut power to Skillin Street, running alongside the Cash Corner fire station where the training was taking place, he said.