Electrical fire outside Isabella Bank on Broadway shakes ground, shuts down power downtown

An electrical box outside the Isabella Bank building located at 139 E. Broadway St. erupted at approximately 6:56 p.m. on Friday, shaking the ground and causing flames as high as the building, according to first responders from the Mount Pleasant Fire Department.

Firefighter Roger Fuller said that as he and other fire officials arrived at the scene, the electrical current surging from the box could be felt down Broadway Street. The force of the current and the fire blew the doors of the box open, melted the wires inside and singed the paint on its casing.

Fuller and other firefighters had to wait until Consumers Energy workers arrived to shut down the power running from elevated wires next to the box before they could put out the fire. Fuller reported that one of the wires on the electrical pole feeding the surge to the box melted in the process.

After Consumers workers shut down power to the box, which fed electricity to surrounding buildings like Max & Emily's, Fuller and other firefighters were able to extinguish the flames with a dry chemical.

"We didn't want to go anywhere near it until (Consumers) showed up," Fuller said. "It was just too dangerous."

Firefighters cleared the scene 7:45 p.m.

As of press time, electricity was shut down to surrounding downtown buildings and will remain shut down until Consumers can fix the box.

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