At approximately 7:20 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26, Keene State College lost power due to an electrical fire on Butler Court. A recloser, a device that works as a circuit breaker for power lines had caught fire and caused power outages throughout the city.
Keene Fire Department (KFD) Captain Arthur Johnson said, “There was a [recloser] fire… that knocked the power out through a lot of the city of Keene, creating a lot of fire alarm issues.”
KFD responded to multiple alarms across the city to fix any issues that may have been caused by this event.
KSC regained power around 8:00 a.m., as did the rest of Keene shortly afterward.
A Keene Sentinel article states, “[Eversource spokesman Martin Murray said] an animal, likely a squirrel, got entangled in the equipment and caused a failure.”
The article also states that the recloser is to be replaced.
While this is not the first time KSC has lost power under similar circumstances, Captain Johnson said he was unable to comment on a possible connection because he was not on duty when the Redfern Arts Center’s transformer caught fire earlier this year.
Angelique Inchierca
Photo Editor
Angelique Inchierca can be contacted at ainchierca@kscequinox.com
