Tredyffrin Fire Update: Cause Under Investigation

TREDYFFRIN TOWNSHIP — PECO launched an investigation Thursday to determine the cause of a large transformer fire at a substation adjacent to the Berwyn-Paoli Little League Field.

It took 15 hours to suppress the blaze, which ignited shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The explosion resulted in 1,300 to 1,500 gallons of oil spilled, causing a massive fire, according to Patty Mains, public information officer for Chester County Emergency Services.

“We have an extensive process to go through to determine the cause,” Brian Ahrens, PECO spokesman, said today.

Ahrens said he could not predict when it would be complete. A damage estimate was not available.

Ahrens said only one business lost power for several hours. No one was injured. Firefighters from Paoli, Berwyn and Malvern were at the scene.

As soon as the fire started, PECO electrical engineers switched the power source for customers to other substations.

“We had a very quick response,”Ahrens said. “It was a team effort.”

The PECO investigation began after the firefighters put out the blaze.

The substation converts high voltage transmission lines into lower voltage for delivery of service to homes and businesses.

A large column of black smoke from the fire was visible for miles Wednesday afternoon.
Route 252 was closed in both directions for several hours.

On Thursday, the eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane. Flaggers monitored the lanes.

Firefighters, PECO staffers and flaggers remained on the scene overnight.