An accident at an electrical substation in Schuylkill County sent one man to the hospital and caused big disruptions for an entire community.
Borough officials in Schuylkill Haven said they want answers after police believe an employee suffered an electrical shock while working on a sub-station Thursday afternoon.
The incident left hundreds of homes and businesses without power for hours.
Emergency crews rushed to the Caldwell Street substation in Schuylkill Haven around 3:15 p.m. Thursday after a report that a borough employee was shocked while working there.
Mayor Gary Hess said it appears one of the transformers inside the substation blew up in front of borough employee Jarrad Bernitsky. He is in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital's burn unit.
Hess said two workers in the borough's electric department came in for a routine check Thursday afternoon. One of those workers, Jarrad Bernitsky, walked by a transformer which apparently then blew up.
Hess said Bernitsky's co-worker heard a loud noise.
"Heard a pop, and a fireball, and then he went in, naturally and the one worker, Jarrad lying on the ground," said Mayor Gary Hess.
Hess said Bernitsky suffered burns and was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital. His coworker is okay.
Borough engineers were called in to investigate and tried to restore power that was knocked out throughout the area.
Drivers faced backups because the traffic lights didn't work. Hundreds of homes and many businesses were in the dark.
Sandi Pacenta owns Haven Car Wash. She said her business took a hit. "In these economic times, it is a very difficult thing to be down especially for us on a sunny day you lose everything on a sunny day," said Pacenta.
Families in the borough tried to cope as best they could.
"It's a huge headache, a burden really, no TV, no refrigerator. I'm in the middle of doing the wash," said Christine Dissinger.
"You can't do anything about it, so when it comes back on, it comes back on," said Nancy Umbenhauer.
Power in Schuylkill Haven was back on shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday.
Because of the power outagebb the borough's annual Halloween parade scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed until Monday.
Authorities will investigate the incident that sent the worker to the hospital.
Borough officials in Schuylkill Haven said they want answers after police believe an employee suffered an electrical shock while working on a sub-station Thursday afternoon.
The incident left hundreds of homes and businesses without power for hours.
Emergency crews rushed to the Caldwell Street substation in Schuylkill Haven around 3:15 p.m. Thursday after a report that a borough employee was shocked while working there.
Mayor Gary Hess said it appears one of the transformers inside the substation blew up in front of borough employee Jarrad Bernitsky. He is in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital's burn unit.
Hess said two workers in the borough's electric department came in for a routine check Thursday afternoon. One of those workers, Jarrad Bernitsky, walked by a transformer which apparently then blew up.
Hess said Bernitsky's co-worker heard a loud noise.
"Heard a pop, and a fireball, and then he went in, naturally and the one worker, Jarrad lying on the ground," said Mayor Gary Hess.
Hess said Bernitsky suffered burns and was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital. His coworker is okay.
Borough engineers were called in to investigate and tried to restore power that was knocked out throughout the area.
Drivers faced backups because the traffic lights didn't work. Hundreds of homes and many businesses were in the dark.
Sandi Pacenta owns Haven Car Wash. She said her business took a hit. "In these economic times, it is a very difficult thing to be down especially for us on a sunny day you lose everything on a sunny day," said Pacenta.
Families in the borough tried to cope as best they could.
"It's a huge headache, a burden really, no TV, no refrigerator. I'm in the middle of doing the wash," said Christine Dissinger.
"You can't do anything about it, so when it comes back on, it comes back on," said Nancy Umbenhauer.
Power in Schuylkill Haven was back on shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday.
Because of the power outagebb the borough's annual Halloween parade scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed until Monday.
Authorities will investigate the incident that sent the worker to the hospital.
