Firefighters were called to the 1100 block of North Merchant in Effingham after a resident saw a transformer spark and “explode.” Richard Dust Sr., a former firefighter, said that sparks “lit the whole thing up.” Another resident, Sherry Lueken, said she heard “humming” during the incident. Power was knocked out across the whole block.
Fire crews and police arrived around 5:30-5:45 and closed N. Merchant near Family Care Associates to investigate the cause of the flare-up. Firefighters suspected that a small branch lodged in the transformer caused the sparks.