An apparent power surge in the center of Reading, Massachusetts, left part of Main Street closed for hours after businesses reported flickering lights, a burned surge protector and electrical smells, city officials said.
Eight businesses on Main Street between Haven and Woburn streets, had power cut, according to the town. Firefighters, police and city workers were called to the area to help.
Power was restored hours later and Main Street reopened. The Haverhill Fire Department said the surge was cost by a lost neutral from a transformer.
No one was hurt, but it was a scary experience for many.
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"Our lights started going crazy randomly," said Peter Simms, who owns a jewelry store on Main Street. "All of a sudden we started hearing stuff pop, like the outlets started popping."
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His staff pulled plugs out of the wall and shut computers off.
Next door at Nella's Pizza, owner Antonilla Marinello saw flickering lights and heard noise from the freezer.
"I got scared. I'm like, I thought something was going on downstairs in my basement," the pizzaiolo said.
The businesses will need to bring in their own electricians to check their circuits before they can turn their power back on, officials said.
The state's power outage map didn't show any outages in the town.
This weekend, Waltham experienced a power surge that led to fires and knocked out power to more than 3,500 people.
This developing news story will be updated when more information is available.
