Residents without power, forced from homes due to electrical issues in Ross Township

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Multiple fire departments were checking over a dozen homes in a Ross Township neighborhood because of electrical issues.

Several homes on Gardner Place, Park Place and Harbeth Drive reported having smoke inside and breakers tripped.

Several Duquesne Light Company crews are also on scene and investigating with the emergency crews.

A spokesperson for Duquesne Light Company provided the following response when we reached out to them about : “A tree fell overnight in that area, possibly from a high wind gust, and resulted in some damage to our equipment. Our crews are currently working at the scene to safely make repairs and restore the 12 customers who remain without power. Service is expected to be fully restored by 4 p.m.”

Berkely Hills Fire Chief Ed Carlino told Channel 11 that dozens of people in a Ross Township neighborhood had no power and were forced from their homes for several days.

Carlino said a power surge happened around midnight at homes on Gardner Place, Park Place and Harbeth Drive. When Duquesne Light tried to re-energize the neighborhood, several small electric fires happened inside the homes.

Duquesne Light will be hiring an independent electrical contractor to help.

Duquesne Light gave an updated statement later in the evening:

“A downed tree caused extensive damage to overhead equipment early Friday morning, Dec. 2, in a Ross Township neighborhood, resulting in more than 120 Duquesne Light Company (DLC) customers losing power. As crews began making repairs and reenergizing the homes, they identified additional damage to customer equipment.

“As of 3 p.m., all repairs have been made to the overhead equipment and power has been safely restored to the area. DLC is working with a third-party contractor to expedite the inspection and connection process to ensure the remaining impacted customers are safely reenergized as quickly as possible.

“Additionally, DLC is assisting customers who may be without power overnight.

“We appreciate everyone’s patience and will provide more updates as they become available.”

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