Substation explosion causes electrical fire at Jefferson County Courthouse

BROOKVILLE - More than 1,000 people were left without power for 11 hours Sunday in Jefferson County after an explosion at a substation, which sparked an electrical fire in the county courthouse.

Fire officials responded around 1:30 a.m. Sunday to a report of an explosion just off Madison Avenue in Brookville.

"Upon arrival at the substation in that area we were greeted with flames and several explosions throughout the next couple of hours until Penelec officials were able to arrive on scene," Brookville fire Chief Steve Hoak said.

More than 1,200 people were without power until just after 11 a.m. Sunday.

But once the power kicked on, so did more problems.

"When the power started coming back on, there were power surges," county commissioner Jeff Pisarchik said. "In the courthouse we have a transformer that's built into the electrical system. The surges melted a wire and created a lot of smoke."

"I got a call just after 11 a.m. from the 911 Center stating that the power was back on," Hoak said. "I was getting ready to go take the generators off of the traffic lights when an alarm went out for an activated fire alarm at the courthouse."

Several fire departments, including one from Clearfield County, responded.

Hoak said firefighters were greeted by smoke in the hallways coming from the holding cells of the old jail and an odor that indicated an electrical fire.

"It was from the ceiling to the floor, and you couldn't see back the hallway. That's how thick the smoke was," Hoak said.

Pisarchik said electricians fixed the problem and checked out the entire courthouse Sunday, to make sure another such incident doesn't happen.

"It's a historic building. A lot of it's new from renovations a few years ago, but it's just like your house, something is always going to break," Pisarchik said. "We pray nothing breaks, but there's always something that's going to happen. As long as they are minor issues like the ones on Sunday, it's a taxpayers' house, so we're going to take good care of it."

For Sunday's story, click here.

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