Beth Frazier, Who Lives on Merrill Street, Said the Incident Happened About 4:00 This Afternoon.

Laura Jean Corideo and Aaron Joseph With Their Daughter Frida  Were Looking for a Restaurant on the Hill for Dinner, But Decided to Try a Food Truck on the Eastern Promenade, Instead!

The White Facade of A Building Under Construction on Merrill Street That A Man Was Working on Before He Was Electrocluated Today. He Was Transported to MMC, For Non-Life Threatening Care.

Matt and Christin Decided to Leave their Nearby Apartment and Have a Beer at the Blue Spoon. – Until it Closed Early Because of the Power Outage.  New to the Area, It Was a Great Way to Meet Some of their Neighbors.

The  Staff at Lolita Was Forced Outside Because  Smoke From the Indoor Wood Grill Could not be Properly Ventilated Without Power.  The Grill was Moved Outside in the Back.

According to a Central Maine Power employee on Merrill Street on Munjoy Hill, the power outage that began about 4:00 pm this afternoon will last until 8:30 pm,, “at least.”  The power outage that happened this afternoon sent one man to Maine Medical Center because he was electrocuted when a power line he was working near hit his boom lift before the wires fell to the ground according to Beth Frazier, who witnessed the incident from the front porch of her apartment on Merrill Street.  The power went out at that time and as of 6:20 pm had not returned.  According to a CMP employee on site it will take, “at least” 2 hours for the power to be restored.

“I heard a popping noise.  Then I saw the wires fall  to the ground.  The second popping noise came from the transformer,” said Frazier.  “There were lots of sparks.” The Fire Department arrived shortly and two police cars soon thereafter she said.  A man was working on the outside of a newly constructed building at the corner of Merrill and Turner Streets.  (See above right photo.)

Frazier saw the injured man who said he was feeling shaky from the electrical shocks he took so he was taken to Maine Medical Center, although it was not a life  threatening situation she was informed.

Hill restaurants shutdown because they could not function without power.  Some were concerned about loosing refrigerated food if the outage lasted more than six hours.  As of 6:45 pm., an “Amazing Cat Circus” show at the the St. Lawrence Arts Center, Congress Street, was in jeopardy because power was needed.  A long line of ticket holders was told if the cat show did not go on and a decision would be made by 7:00 pm., a special performance would be held this Wednesday evening.  Cat lovers came from Manchester, New Hampshire and Bangor to enjoy the annual show.

“This is a wicked bumma,” said Sheila Jackson, a resident of the Hill who was also enjoying the outdoor patio at the “Blue Spoon,” until it closed.

CMP had made its repairs to the transformer at the corner of Merrill and Turner Streets on the Hill.  But it was waiting for Fair Point Communications to arrive on the scene to repair their telephone lines; around 6:20 pm.   Repairs that Fair Point insisted on making itself before the CMP power would once again iluminate Munjoy Hill on a glorious summer evening.

“We are just going with the flow,” said Jen Rothbait, an employee of Lolita.

(editor’s note:  The man admitted to Maine Medical Center for care last night was reportedly released today,  August 11, 2017.)