Smoke forces evacuations at Montgomery Mall
MONTGOMERY TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- Officials say a power outage led to a smoky situation and forced the evacuation of the Montgomery Mall in Montgomery Township.
It happened around 10 a.m. Tuesday at the mall located near Bethlehem and North Wales Roads.
First responders arrived to smoke and hazy conditions.
A second alarm was struck for assistance to figure out the source of the problem.
A large presence of fire engines arrived to the scene.
The power outage caused a generator to malfunction. Once the power was back on, the generator gave off an electrical odor, and then smoke began pouring through the mall.
And, that prompted the evacuation of employees and shoppers at the mall.
Lanette Wismer, a mall employee said, "I couldn't get my registers up and the next thing you know the power went out entirely in the whole mall. It came back on partially, and I smelled something burning. I looked around and couldn't find anything. Then I started to see smoke, so I gathered my belongings and got out and called 911."
Employees were allowed back in the mall around noon. Shoppers will be allowed back in around 12:30 p.m.
There was no damage to the mall, and no reports of injuries.
