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July 9, 2007

Six state departments without power, phones

CRANSTON -- An underground electrical fire early this morning has caused six state departments at the Pastore Campus in Cranston to lose power and telephone service.

Those affected were the Departments of Children, Youth and Families; Corrections; Elderly Affairs; Human Services; Labor and Training; and, Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals, according to a news release from the state Department of Administration.

Eleanor Slater Hospital is running on limited power. "While all medically necessary services are being provided to patients, the department’s generators are not sufficient to also provide air conditioning," the release says.

MHRH is having two more generators shipped in and installed tonight to provide additional electricity. "It is expected that once these generators come online, full power (including air conditioning) will be restored. In the meantime, officials from the Department of Health are monitoring the health and safety of all hospital patients."

At 2 p.m., it was 79 degrees in Cranston, according to the National Weather Service, which had forecast a high temperature of 91 degrees.

State officials believe phones, Internet access and email may be restored by day's end, but primary electricity will take 72 to 96 hours to fully restore, the news release stated.

"While many of the departments cannot currently be reached by telephone or email, they all remain open with power from backup generators," the news release said.

The Division of Motor Vehicles' operator control office, located on the Pastore Campus, is also affected. But the main Department of Motor Vehicles office in Pawtucket and statewide branches are not, according to the release.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 2:01 PM | Permalink

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