Manhole fire causes power outage in Old City

Saturday, July 13, 2019
Manhole fire leaves hundreds without power in Old City
Manhole fire leaves hundreds without power in Old City. George Solis has more on Action News at 6 p.m. on July 13, 2019.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia firefighters and PECO workers were called after flames began shooting up out of a manhole at 4th and Market streets in the middle of the night.

The fire left hundreds of customers without power through Saturday morning.

Firefighters responded to flames shooting up at least five feet high from a manhole at the intersection where utility crews suspected the problem originated. At the height of the outage, some 500 customers were left without power.

By daylight, PECO officials brought in emergency generators to help affected customers.

However, some popular tourist attractions remained closed, including areas around the Independence Visitor Center.

There's still no word on what may have caused that fire, or when power will be restored.

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