Damage to electrical box impacted Courthouse Square operations
Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter
The entrance to the Family Court Center
Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter
Plywood and boards show where an electrical switchgear box should have been positioned along West Beau Street beside Courthouse Square. West Penn Power employees were conferring about the situation and they were able to make a temporary fix.
Washington County officials are asking city police to investigate who or what damaged a metal box that houses electrical connections for the Courthouse Square office building.
A crew from West Penn Power was summoned late Tuesday morning when it was discovered that the metal housing, known as a switchgear box, was knocked from its moorings on the West Beau Street side of the building near South Franklin Street.
The box had to be lifted to get a better look at damage.
Commission Chairman Diana Irey Vaughan pegged the incident at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday and said city police will be asked to obtain surveillance footage of the vicinity.
Near mid-day Tuesday, employees were asked to save what was on their computer screens and power them down.
Telephone service, lighting, elevators and automatic doors continued to function, but signs on the county treasurer’s office noted it was “closed due to loss of power.”
“Our backup generators kicked in,” Irey Vaughan said late Tuesday afternoon.
West Penn Power personnel were able to make temporary fixes, and the commission chairman expected business to be conducted as usual Wednesday.
The switchgear box dates back to the construction of the approximately 40-year-old building, and the county and West Penn Power will schedule a time for more extensive maintenance and repairs at a time to be determined, Irey Vaughan said.