Officials are trying to determine what caused an electrical pole to catch fire in Middletown Wednesday night, causing power outages.
According to Middletown Fire Marshal Robert McCall, crews responded to West Main Road for reports of an electrical pole on fire. When crews arrived on scene, McCall said they noticed a small fire was burning approximately halfway up the pole.
McCall said they notified National Grid and made the decision to close West Main Road down to traffic from Forest Avenue to Oliphant Lane South as crews worked to extinguish the fire.
Approximately 20 minutes later, McCall said crews spotted a large electrical arc between the wires, which in turn caused a power outage in the surrounding area. McCall said residents lost electricity, internet access and cable in the power outage.
Soon after the power went out, the Middletown Fire Department began receiving several 911 calls about tripped breakers, smell of electrical burning in homes and the malfunction of appliances. McCall said crews began a door to door response in the neighborhoods where the issues were reported.
McCall said the department has not received any reports of fires in the affected neighborhoods.