MOUNT VERNON — A broken insulator on an AEP power pole allowed a 7,200 volt line to fall to the pavement on Belmont Avenue on Monday afternoon.
The line shorted out on the top of the pole, setting it on fire. The top 2 feet of the pole burned, then fell to the ground. The line running west from Mansfield Avenue then shorted into the ground, burning holes and getting the soil so hot it melted into glass.
The company said the failure left 220 customers without power from 2:24 p.m. to 5:59 p.m.
