Downed Power Line, Small Fire Shut Down Main Street Sunday Morning

A small fire was extinguished on the deck behind the on Main Street after a downed power line energized a fence and started the fire, according to fire officials.

Main Street between Ellicott Mills Drive and Old Columbia Pike was closed on Sunday morning while officials worked to put out the fire and restore the power lines.

"The fire was confined to the deck, but we had to wait for BGE to put it out," said Battalion Chief Christine Uhlhorn of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. The fire started at about 9 a.m. Sunday and was extinguished about 30 minutes afterwards, according to Uhlhorn.

"Apparently the whole thing started from a bird," said Uhlhorn.

Nearby residents said they could hear the sound of explosions after the wires came down.

"We heard two loud bangs," said Maili Godwin, who lives in an apartment building about a block from where the fire occurred.

"A wire came down and then another wire fell in the back and caused two explosions," said Chris Woods at the scene on Sunday.

The owners of the building, David and Kay Robbins, were also at the scene. David Robbins said a transformer behind the Architecture Collaborative flew about 75 feet shortly after it exploded around 9 a.m.

He joked, "Fires and floods of epic proportions continue to ravish the Ellicott City area."

Kay Robbins thanked Uhlhorn for the fire department's quick response.

"You guys reacted fast, thanks for saving our building," said Robbins.

Around 10 a.m. on Sunday, firefighters were investigating a light smoke inside the Ellicott Mills Brewery.