POWER has been restored to Carlisle Street after an electrical fire on a power line stopped traffic and business operations.
The Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board was called to the scene at 159 Carlisle Street at 8.06am today following an electrical fire involving high-voltage cables.
MFB officers were unable to pinpoint the cause of the blaze, saying it likely occurred due to a power overload or overheating.
Watch video of the fire here.
Dozens of shops near the incident lost their electricity supply, and some traders lost thousands of dollars in food stock, income and staffing costs.
Carlisle Street was cordoned off, and trams were stopped from entering the section of street affected.
MFB spokeswoman Meg Rayner said two pumpers from Windsor fire station attended, but were unable to put water on the blaze as it was an electrical fault.
She said once power company United Energy arrived and shut off the power, fire crews put the blaze out.
United Energy spokesman Stuart Allott said the company was replacing damaged cabling.
“Because we want to get the job done as safely and quickly and possibly, it will mean traffic stoppages. The work should be done by the end of today,” he said.
Mr Allott said United Energy was investigating the cause.
A bin fire below the affected pole was quickly controlled, and no shops were damaged. Fire crews left the scene at 9.25am.
Cafe Las Chicas, located nearby at 203 Carlisle Street, closed for the day and sent its 10 staff members home.
“We’ll have to throw out some stock, plus the cool rooms and fridges aren’t working,” owner James Olliver said.
“We’re throwing out a lot of the food, we can’t clean any dishes, there’s no hot water.”