Power Surge Causes Explosions In 55 Homes
WFTV-TV
Tue February 17, 2009
Area: Orlando, Daytona Beach, Melbourne
MINNEOLA, Florida - Fifty-five homeowners in Minneola were stunned Wednesday when a sudden power surge blew up appliances and caused fire to shoot out of outlets. It was all because of a mistake by their electric company.
Sumter Electric sent too much power through the wires to homes near Chelsea Parc Drive (see map). Appliances exploded and fire shot out of the outlets. Residents heard the explosion, they ran outside and found the breaker boxes outside their homes were on fire.
In home after home, neighbors suddenly experienced the same thing.
"Like sparks flew out of the outlets and there was a huge puff of a smoke and I just grabbed my son and ran outside," resident Taryn Anthony said.
Sumter County Electric Cooperative was upgrading the power grid around the Chelsea Parc neighborhood in Minneola when something went wrong. There was a power surge. The utility sent twice the normal amount of power, frying electrical systems in 55 homes.
"Oh, honey, I was so scared, I didn't know what happened," 91-year-old Inez Slater said.
Slater was asleep and woke up to a fireball flying across her living room.
"All at once, my goodness in life, it was just like a bomb went off here, fire was just flying from lights everywhere in here," she said.
Now, her TV, her phone and life-alert bracelet no longer work. In other homes, Eyewitness News found appliances ruined and electrical outlets burned.
Rob Anderson came outside to find his power breaker on fire. He quickly put it out.
"Basically, everything in the house is gonna be fried," he said.
Firefighters had to use special equipment to make sure wiring inside people's homes wasn't still burning. The power company hired contractors to fix homeowners' electrical systems and is promising to replace damaged appliances.
Nobody was hurt.
Sumter Electric Cooperative said it is investigating why it happened. The utility said they've never had a problem like this before.
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