Power Outage Causes Albertville Day Care Scare

Some tense moments unfolded yesterday at an Albertville day care center after a power outage in the city might have caused a small electrical problem to spark up and create some smoke inside the business.

Albertville Fire Department was callled to , located at 5600 LaCentre Ave., shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday after staff there complained of a strong smoke odor.

A staff member from the day care who called 911 told Wright County dispatchers she "did not see smoke or fire," but there was a strong smell of something burning in the business.

Albertville firefighters arrived around 2:05 p.m. and immediately searched the area. Thermal cameras were used to scan walls and ceilings for hotspots, but nothing was found. Firefighters also searched HVAC units on the roof of the building, but did not find anything.

Still, crews remained on the scene. Fire Chief Tate Mills said his men aired out the building using fans and opening emergency doors, while the kids stayed in the interior portions of the building. Shortly before 4 p.m., with Xcel Energy employees on the scene to assess the building for any electrical issues, the firemen left the scene.

The incident was preceded by a power outage that impacted nearly 1,800 customers–commercial and residential–in Albertville Tuesday shortly after 1:30 p.m. The interruption lasted about 90 minutes for those who were without power the longest, but everything was back online by Monday evening.

Witnesses at said a semi truck exiting the mall, located on County Highway 19 (LaBeaux Avenue), clipped a power pole with its trailer. The impact could be heard inside the building, and power went out for a few seconds before a backup generator kicked in. Power was lost to the entire mall, and might have tripped service throughout town.