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Westmoreland Co. Homes Damaged By Power Surges

IRWIN (KDKA) – It's been an incredible 24 hours if you are a firefighter, electrician or homeowner in certain parts of Westmoreland County.

A series of surges burned out some wiring and scared a lot of people.

Firefighters rushed to a home on Westminster in Irwin. Different address, same call: burning wires, smoking outlets.

"Seventeen houses in one night," said Straw Pump Volunteer Fire Chief George Werkman.

For firefighters, this was a return engagement. They were there the night before, during the initial call for service.

"I had a lot of breakers that were blown and when I went to turn them back on to check my appliances, I had a burning smell," said Chris Laukus, whose home was hit by the surge. "So I called the fire department."

According to West Penn Power, it all started around midnight. A 24- and 12-thousand volt got together from a fallen tree. The power surge spread, followed by the calls to 911.

Carol Williamson was awake when the blast of excess electricity hit her home.

"I smelled something like burning wire," she said. "At midnight I'm running around the house with a flashlight. Looking to see if there's any smoke anywhere."

Luckily for Williamson, the only thing that got cooked was the surge protector.
Electrician Joe Banks said he got well over 100 calls.

West Penn Power says the incident was an act of nature and homeowners will need to file claims with their homeowner's insurance company.

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