A motor vehicle accident in Sweet Home caused widespread power outages across the area, subsequently causing some wiring in Sweet Home City Hall to catch fire, said the Sweet Home Fire District (SHFD) in a news release.
The department says crews dispatched to the accident around 5:55 a.m. Thursday morning.
SHFD says vehicle involved had collided with a power pole, causing severe damage with wires hanging low over Hwy. 20. Fire officials say that a delivery truck was traveling behind the car when the accident occurred, with the power lines became caught on the truck, causing damage to several power poles and transformers; ultimately causing the power outages to a large part of Sweet Home.
Sweet Home Fire District says that traffic had to be rerouted off Hwy. 20 due to the downed powerlines on the roadway.
The fire district was sent to manage the accident when SHFD received reports of smoke inside City Hall at 6:51 a.m.. SHFD Incident Commander assumed command of the accident and City Hall incident. According to officials an engine company from the motor vehicle accident was reassigned to City Hall and confirmed that there was smoke inside the building.
Fire crews located the source of the smoke, electrical wires that burned in the crawl space under City Hall. When crews located the damaged wiring, SHFD says there was no active fire. Crews used ventilation fans to remove the remaining smoke in the building.
SHFD says that other local building occupants were contacted to ensure that there were no other fire issues in the surrounding area.