Pekin schools close because of electrical fire

PACKWOOD ? Pekin Community Schools closed today because of an electrical fire that cut power to the school buildings.

The fire was reported at 7:30 a.m. in the electrical transformer on the school grounds. The Packwood Fire Department arrived within five minutes and put out the fire, which was confined to the transformer box. The transformer supplies power to the school buildings.

Packwood Fire Chief Dave Hollingsworth said no injuries were reported. He said he learned of the fire through a phone call from the school custodian who noticed the transformer was on fire. Hollingsworth said surrounding buildings were not in danger of catching on fire.

Hollingsworth said the extent of the damage was unknown as of this morning because Alliant Energy is still investigating the fire. He said it?s possible the transformer could be fixed in time to resume school tomorrow.

The electrical fire was related to the storm and high winds that swept through the area Sunday night and this morning, Hollingsworth said.