Beverly City Hall had to be evacuated along with several other buildings after officials say an underground electrical fire released dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide.
Firefighters were called to city hall on Tuesday morning after smoke began emanating from a manhole. Fire Lt. Ryan Laracy says fire alarms in the building later went off.
Kevin Harutunian, chief of staff to Mayor Michael Cahill, tells The Salem News he saw smoke in the basement of the building, which was immediately evacuated. No one was hurt and the blaze was extinguished.
A National Grid spokeswoman says most of the area regained power by 10:30 a.m.
Fire officials say the blaze was caused by the insulator on some electrical wiring. Smoke and carbon monoxide traveled into city hall through the electrical line.
