An explosion and electrical fire caused multiple power outages in Hartford on Wednesday morning.

According to Hartford Hospital spokeswoman Tina Varona, the incident occurred around 4 a.m. when Eversource reported that an explosion and fire in a shaft on Elm Street would require a power shutdown across most of the Capital Region.

Eversource said the problem was due to a customer underground electrical equipment problem on Elm Street that damaged the utility’s equipment and caused an underground fire. An Eversource spokesman said about 9,500 customers were initially without power. That number dropped to nearly 3,000 within a few hours and dropped to 1,187 around 8 a.m

Eversource had no estimate of when the remaining outages would be resolved.

According to the Hartford Fire Department, Eversource was able to isolate the electrical safe. The firefighters who responded on site were able to enter the shaft and extinguish the fire using dry extinguishing agents.

Varona said the outage affected both service lines to Hartford Hospital and caused the facility to run on generator power.

“While most essential clinical functions are being performed, there are limitations such as non-functioning elevators, garage doors and public spaces,” Varona said. “We continue to assess the situation – hospital operations are currently running normally and care for our patients is not affected. Patients will be contacted directly if the power outage impacts their scheduled surgeries.

“The safety and care of our patients and colleagues remains our top priority as we work to address a power outage in the city of Hartford, including Hartford Hospital,” Varona said.

Originally published: December 11, 2024 at 8:07 am EST