Part of a ComEd utility pole hung just feet above the ground, supported by mangled power lines in the 7500 block of Lehigh Avenue this morning. (Niles Fire Dept. photo)
A utility pole and transformer fire Friday morning (Feb. 20) in Niles forced the closure of Lehigh Avenue and Gross Point Road, cutting power to more than 1,000 customers in a primarily industrial area.
Emergency crews were dispatched to the 7500 block of Lehigh Avenue at 8:12 a.m. after a ComEd pole caught fire and collapsed.
Police shut down Lehigh Avenue between Touhy Avenue and Howard Street. Gross Point Road was also closed from Melvina Avenue to Lehigh Avenue.
Niles Deputy Police Chief Tom Fragassi said ComEd crews arrived at 8:50 a.m. and took control of the site by 9:54 a.m. While utility workers handled the repairs, police remained on-site to manage traffic.
Niles District Chief Evan Schachtel said the fire was extinguished once ComEd powered down the lines. He noted that firefighters could not use water on the blaze while the electrical wires remained live due to safety risks.
Photos from the scene showed a snapped section of the pole suspended by remaining utility lines.
The outage affected approximately 1,040 customers at its peak, according to a ComEd spokeswoman. Restoration efforts moved quickly — by noon, nly six customers remained without power and by 2 p.m., full restoration was expected.
The cause of Friday’s fire is still under investigation. However, ComEd officials confirmed Friday that a similar utility pole fire on Waukegan Road this past Wednesday was weather-related.
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