Power Surge Causes Blaze in Maine

Fire officials in Gray, Maine believe a defective transformer is to blame for a power surge that caused fires in a doctor’s office and four homes.

Officials say the faulty transformer sent 12,000 volts of electricity into the structures, sending smoke from electrical appliances and computers.

Gray Fire Chief Rickey Plummer says Central Maine Power representatives told him the assumption is that a transformer on the new public works building was defective.

One thing that may have saved the homes and the Family Health Center on Route 26 is the fact that the Gray Fire Department is across the street.