Mold Remediation in Hartford, CT

A power outage early Wednesday morning plunged nearly 9,000 Eversource customers in the dark in Downtown Hartford.

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HARTFORD, Conn — Thousands in Downtown Hartford experienced power outages Wednesday morning, including FOX61.

Eversource reported that as of 6:30 a.m., just over 9,000 customers were without power. The power loss affected some buildings and streetlights in the Capitol Avenue and Broad Street area of the city as well as downtown, including Pearl Street. As of 8 p.m., nearly all customers in Hartford had power again.

According to Hartford fire officials, the outage stems from an underground electrical vault fire in the area of 55 Elm Street.

"It is an underground vault; Limited visibility," said Hartford Fire Chief Rodney Barco. "We had to make sure that the power was disconnected so we waited for Eversource to come and disconnect the power so we can go in. We used dry chemicals to extinguish the visible flame we saw at the time."

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Barco added that there's a construction project happening at 55 Elm, but it's not clear what started the fire.

"It’s a former state office building," said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. "It’s turning into residential so there been a lot of work that was done to that building. There’s no one living in it yet but they are looking to have units up within a matter of months."

Hartford Hospital was also on backup power following the outage.

The hospital issued a statement regarding the situation, confirming they were on generator power after both feeders into the hospital were shut down.

"As a result, we are currently operating on generator power. While most essential clinical functions are running, there are limitations like non-functioning elevators, garage gates, and public spaces," the hospital said in their statement. "We continue to assess the situation - hospital operations are currently operating normally and care to our patients is not affected."

Fire officials said Eversource had isolated the electrical vault, and fire crews were able to get in and douse the flames with dry chemical extinguishers. It's unknown what sparked the fire and how long the outage will last, officials said.

Ahmed Sharif Syed, resident of the Hartford 21 building on Trumbull Street, recalled his experience losing power Wednesday morning.

“I see there’s no power, I couldn’t charge my phone. I couldn’t charge my laptop and I couldn’t attend the meeting. I had to connect to a hotspot through my phone and yeah, feeling bad for that," he said.

This is a developing story.

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Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.

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HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Thousands of homes lost power in Hartford today after an underground electrical fire in the area of Elm Street.

“That explosion triggered a power outage for 9,200 homes across the city of Hartford, including my own, actually,” said Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam.

Operations at Hartford Hospital were also impacted.

An update from officials happened around noon.

Fire officials told Channel 3 that the manhole fire under 55 Elm St. caused a power outage around 4 a.m.

55 Elm Street was once a state office building and is now being turned into apartments.

“There was smoke going from 55 Elm Street. The crews went into operation, they checked all of the floors from the main floor to the top and determined that it was coming from the basement, which was a transformer bolt, so we immediately notified Eversource,” said Chief Rodney Barco, Hartford Fire Department.

It required most of the power in the city to be shut down.

Eversource reported over 9,000 customers without power at one point. At 10:15 a.m., the number was down to 1,050. By 3 p.m., that number was down to 830.

“Our fire department responded to that explosion in the middle of the night and have done an incredible job,” said Mayor Arulampalam. “Eversource has been on the ground working very quickly to restore power to those homes.”

“Eversource has isolated the electrical vault,” said Mario Oquendo, Jr., district chief, Hartford Fire Department. “Companies were able to make entry and extinguish all visible fire with dry chemical extinguishers.”

Oquendo said it appeared that Eversource would be working in the area for an unspecified amount of time.

Hartford Hospital was among those impacted. However, fire officials said the hospital was up on backup power.

The hospital says its most essential clinical functions are running but things like elevators, garage gates, and public spaces have been impacted.

However, patients inside the hospital told Channel 3 that some surgeries were delayed.

Hartford Hospital says it is notifying patients if their scheduled surgeries have been affected.

“The safety and care of our patients and colleagues remains our top priority as we work to navigate a power disruption to the City of Hartford including Hartford Hospital,” said Tina Varona, spokesperson, Hartford Hospital. “As a result, we are currently operating on generator power. While most essential clinical functions are running, there are limitations like non-functioning elevators, garage gates, and public spaces. We continue to assess the situation. Hospital operations are currently operating normally and care to our patients is not affected. Patients will be contacted directly if the power outage impacts their scheduled surgeries.”

There’s no word on how the fire started or how long the outage was anticipated to last.

Refresh this page and watch Eyewitness News for updates.

Copyright 2024 WFSB. All rights reserved.

Acclaimed Connecticut Executive Chef David Standridge of Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, who got his start cooking as a Gen X latchkey kid, has been named chef of the year by the Connecticut Restaurant Association, after earlier this year winning the coveted 2024 James Beard Award.

Standridge and other winners were named and honored at the industry’s CRAZIES awards in front of a record-breaking crowd of 1,500 at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

In addition to Standridge, Bar Rosina’s in Greenwich won Connecticut Restaurant of the Year, Gioia Cafe & Bar in New Haven won restaurant newcomer.

Each year, the CRAZIES recognizes the ability and talent of Connecticut’s hospitality community at the awards gala.

The honorees are chosen with the help of an expert media panel and over 25,000 online public votes. The CRA honored 21 in the industry from across the state.

“The 6th Anniversary of the CRAZIES Awards Gala was a huge success for our association, for our industry, and for the tens of thousands of Connecticut residents we employ,” said Connecticut Restaurant Association President & CEO Scott Dolch.

“The energy and enthusiasm of 1,500 industry professionals coming together demonstrated that Connecticut’s restaurant and hospitality industry continues to be a powerful economic engine, accounting for nearly 10 percent of all jobs in our state.”

Aside from Standridge and the others named above, winners were:

Caterer of the Year, Chef Prasad in New Canaan; server of the year to Christopher Hodson from Materia Ristorante, Bantam; Bartender of the Year, Suzie Johnson from Fire by Forge in Hartford; Pastry Chef of the Year, Jessica Spivey from Oyster Club in Mystic.

People’s Choice award went to Sandra’s Next Generation in New Haven and vendor of the Year went to Copps Island Oysters.

In addition Connecticut Restaurant Association recognized Eli Hawli and Sam DeVellis of Market Hospitality Group as the 2024 Restaurateurs of the Year. The pair own and operate six different restaurant concepts throughout Connecticut, New York and Florida, which currently totals 16 different locations, including Market Place Kitchen & Bar; Mercato Italian Kitchen & Bar; Market Place Tavern; Blu Pointe; Beso Taco Bar; The Wheel; and Key Largo Fisheries.

Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough, Noank; and Red Rock Tavern in Hartford were inducted into the Connecticut Hospitality Hall of Fame.

Connecticut’s State House Rep. Kerry Wood was presented with the Friend of the Industry Award for her dedication and partnership to the Connecticut’s restaurant and hospitality industry.

Also, attorney Edward ‘Bud’ F. O’Donnell, Jr. was recognized by the association with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the Connecticut Restaurant Association and hospitality industry over the years.

The town announced last week that West Hartford's two town-owned golf courses are now only open for passive recreation uses only.

Patch Staff

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Golf these days at West Hartford's two town-owned courses probably won't be in the cards for a while.

But it doesn't mean these taxpayer-owned sites cannot be enjoyed during the winter months.

Last Friday, the town announced the Rockledge and Buena Vista golf courses are now open for winter passive recreation only. It's time to put the clubs away.

According to the town, the winter trails will be available for jogging, walking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.

"For the safety of all users, no golfing is allowed while the course is closed," wrote the town.

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"Residents may bring their dogs on the course but must follow the rules for all parks and school yards year-round."

There are some guidelines regarding the use of the town's golf courses.

For the Blackledge Golf Club, they include:

• Park in the Rockledge Golf Club parking lot at 289 S. Main St.

• Trails are open from dawn to dusk every day.

• Trails start and end at the pro shop.

• There are three marked trails: the yellow trail (0.6 miles), the red trail (1.6 miles), and the blue trail (2.2 miles).

All three trails are marked with colored markers spaced 0.1 mile apart.

• Stay on the designated trails to avoid hazardous areas and prevent damage to the greens and tees.

Do not cut across greens to reach other portions of the trails.

• Bicycles, snowmobiles, ATVs, and motorized vehicles are not allowed.

• Dogs must be leashed at all times. Owners must have control over their dogs. Please keep your dog from digging and dog waste must be bagged and removed from the area.

Buena Vista Golf Course, 37 Buena Vista Road, is also open for winter walking with the same guidelines required as Rock Ledge.

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