UPDATE, 1:30 p.m.: Whitman's plans to reopen today
Saratoga Springs electrical grid is part of issue
Updated, July 5, 1:30 p.m.: According to Whitman’s Brewing Co.’s Facebook page, the company will reopen, though not all sections of the brew pub/gastrobar at 2 p.m. Power is fully back on in downtown Saratoga Springs, according to the National Grid power outage map.
Updated July 5, 11:47 a.m.: Emergency scanner traffic says that a pipe has burst in the sprinkler system in the Saratoga Springs City Center garage. Crews are responding. The parking garage is about one block from the Whitman’s building.
Original story July 5, 11:30 a.m.: Firefighters have told Saratoga Dispatch that it appears an HVAC unit on the roof of Whitman’s Brewery at the intersection of Lake Avenue and Maple Avenue burned out, causing the smoke that tripped a smoke alarm and tripped the circuit breaker. They responded about 11 a.m. today and are still on scene.
Traffic is blocked between Maple Avenue and Caroline Street.
This has been an ongoing story. At the last posting, a captain with the Saratoga Springs Fire Department said the crew was trying to cut power to just the one bad HVAC unit, and are working with National Grid to restore power.
(The National Grid power outage map is showing 1,240 customers currently out of power in the area surrounding Whitman’s, that includes residences and businesses. Police scanner traffic says that a garage door at the downtown City Center Parking Garage is in the closed position because of the power outage, but crews are responding. That outage started at 9:59 according to the map. It is unclear if there is a relation.)
Reports were of smoke coming out of a vent and a second floor smoke alarm activated.
Kathy Crager, owner of Whitmans, says a breaker blew in the building and then a generator turned on and apparently burned out. Or perhaps it burned out something else. No one is sure exactly what has happened.
The restaurant is closed until further notice they are asking people to follow them on social media to stay updated.
Wittman’s staff is huddled up outside the entrance on Maple Avenue. There have been no reports of injuries.