Click here to subscribe today or Login.
A squirrel wreaking havoc on electrical wiring was to blame for an early morning fire Tuesday at the Laurel Mall inside Boscov’s department store, Hazle Township Fire and Rescue said.
According to the department’s Facebook page, after two hours of looking for the source of the fire, it was discovered that a squirrel caused one of the electric motors to drop onto the three phase line, a type of power circuit, which caused a three phase motor on an air handler to fault out and burn up.
Along with fire crews and maintenance staff, PPL was on scene as well to assist with the electrical issues, the department said.
According to Times Leader news-gathering partners at Eyewitness News (WBRE/WYOU), mall manager Rocco Arruzzo said Boscov’s employees first noticed something was wrong when the lights began flickering and the registers were not working.
Employees also noticed there was smoke coming from their stockroom and cash offices, Arruzzo noted.
As reported by Eyewitness News, officials checked the electrical boxes, the roof and hatchets before allowing the employees to enter the building.