Oak Ridge Electric Department crews worked to restore electricity to Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road after an early morning power failure on Friday.

The Oak Ridge Fire Department responded to the report of a fire alarm at Callaghan Towers on 115 Fairbanks Road at approximately 3:31 a.m. on Friday, September 18. When they arrived, ORFD firefighters investigated and found the elevator mechanical room was filled with smoke. ORFD entered into the room using a thermal imaging camera and found elevator motor number one to be smoking and elevator motor number two to be overheating, a press release said.

Firefighters disconnected power to the elevators and set up exhaust fans in the outside doorways to clear the building of smoke. Residents from the first floor were evacuated from the building until the building was cleared of smoke. Residents on floors two through six were sheltered in place in their rooms during the event. [Read more…]