Devon Fire and Rescue service were called out to two separate incidents of people stuck in lifts in Exeter city centre today due to a power outage.
One person was rescued from a lift in Carpenter Close, Exeter at 11:42am after two fire appliances from Exeter Danes Castle arrived on the scene and crews used small tools to release the person, who was unharmed.
A woman was also rescued from a lift in Bartholomew Street West, Exeter five minutes later. One fire appliance from Exeter Middlemoor and one from Topsham attended and crews released the lady using small tools.
Devon Fire and rescue service confirmed that both incidents were related to loss of power.
Engineers from Western Power Distribution responded to the fault in Haven Road at around 11.40am which affected 877 customers in the city centre.
Many buildings were left without power during the outage and shops in the city centre had to be evacuated.
Exeter City Police tweeted:
'Power outage in Exeter city centre all traffic lights seem to be affected – take care. A lot of shops have lost power and ATM's.'
In a separate incident, power supplies to 1,096 customers in the Countess Wear area were interrupted at 10.10am after workers damaged a cable in Topsham Road.
The power was later restored by Engineers from Western Power Distribution.
