Transformer burst cuts off power to campus, Borough

Nearly the entire campus suffered power outages yesterday afternoon as a transformer burst and caught fire.

Borough Police Capt. Charles Davall said the dispatcher received a call at 1:34 p.m. about a sparking transformer near William and Charlton streets by the computer science building. He added that the entire Borough, including the University, lost power until about 2:40 p.m.

The campus outages were part of widespread power failures caused by three 26,000-volt cables that shorted out in West Windsor, Lawrence and the Borough.

The first outage occurred at noon, but most customers had their power restored by 3 p.m., according to Joey Anderson, a spokeswoman for Public Service Electric and Gas Company — the largest energy service provider in New Jersey.

Anderson said yesterday afternoon that PSE&G had not determined the cause of the massive power failure and she did not expect a report on the cause for a few days.

Public Safety responded to more than 100 false fire alarms triggered by the power outage throughout the campus during the hour the campus was without power, according to Public Safety Crime Prevention Specialist Barry Weiser.

Borough Police received a half-dozen calls to direct traffic at Nassau Street intersections with nonfunctional traffic lights. And at least three groups of passengers got stuck in elevators in campus buildings.

However, the power failure had more serious implications in other campus locations.

A leak below Denunzio Pool flooded the building's basement leaving an inch-and-a-half of water on the floor. Assistant Director for Facilities Jeff Graydon said the leak was caused by a leaf-clogged drain that blocked water flow when the pump shut down.

Though the flood prompted a call to the Borough Fire Department, Graydon said the problem was resolved quickly and there was no damage to the basement, which only contains mechanical equipment.

The outage that affected students most occurred at Frist Campus Center, where the electricity loss forced the partial shutdown of the food gallery as students gathered during the peak lunch period.

David Goetz, a dining services official, said DDS placed barriers at the gallery's entrances to limit customers and prevent backlogs. As a result of the blackout, employees also closed the grill and Food for Thought restaurant and recorded cash register transactions by hand.

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"The lights go out, the grills go off, the ovens go off," Goetz said, describing the consequences of an outage. "Some people were inconvenienced by it. Especially with exams, it's a high-stress time."

Anderson said PSE&G crews were repairing the cables yesterday afternoon and anticipated no further problems.