Power and heat restored to Northeast Philadelphia apartments

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Residents inside several Northeast Philadelphia apartments spent the day dealing with frigid temperatures and no power and heat.

The charred underground transformer was dug up around 1 p.m. Monday, nearly 12 hours after it blew and knocked out power to roughly two dozen apartments at Victoria Woods.

Mark Weaver arrived home from New Year's festivities shortly after the power went out.

He said, "It got colder and colder as the night progressed. We had comforters, her jacket and my jacket. So we roughed it out and it worked out."

Initially, others like the Sonis had no idea their apartments lost power.

Action News asked them how they stayed warm overnight.

"We didn't realize we lost power overnight. Then it started getting colder and we realized," said Harsh Soni of Northeast Philadelphia.

But as the day progressed and the repairs dragged on, Weaver and the Sonis decided it was time to leave.

"It's really cold. It's unbearable," said Soni. So they all headed to the mall.

Overnight, a Septa bus was brought to the scene to serve as a warming station.

The apartment complex also suffered a broken water main.

Management said no units lost water and most residents are staying with friends and family until the power is restored.

Fortunately, PECO crews were able to fix the problem after 4:30 p.m. and the power and heat were restored.

------

Send a breaking news alert to Action News
Report a correction or typo
Want to comment?
Learn more about the 6abc apps