Residents Temporarily Displaced Following Electrical Fire

More than 30 residents of Braxton Place narrowly avoided seeking overnight shelter after a transformer fire cut power to multiple buildings Saturday afternoon. City of Madison firefighters were called to 734 Braxton place at 2:47 p.m. Saturday for a basement fire. The 734 address is one of five units in that building. Four of those units are occupied. The damaged transformer supplies power to half a dozen buildings in the Community Development Authority (CDA) housing complex. A Metro Transit bus was called to the scene as MGE worked to restore power. Power to most buildings was restored after 3 hours. The final unit affected had power restored by 10 p.m. Volunteers from the American Red Cross - Badger Chapter were placed on standby at the scene when it appeared electrical power might not be restored until the next morning. Residents who have worked with parish and public health nurses to prepare for emergencies assisted the Fire Department in managing information to their neighbors and helping to access resources. There were no injuries and damage was contained to the utility room where the transformer was located, with minimal smoke damage to living areas.