Erie fire and police departments responded to calls of smoke rising from manholes, or underground utility vaults, at E 10th and State streets and W 13th and Peach streets around 5 p.m.
Vehicular traffic in the vicinity was rerouted.
Penelec was on scene to identify and repair what was believed to be one or more damaged underground electrical lines. No power outages were reported.
Fire firefighters checked the interior of nearby buildings that were accessible, according to Erie Deputy Fire Chief Mike Fahey. He said none of the checked building had smoke inside, but there a noticeable odor of smoke inside of 8 E 10th St, which houses Jekyll & Hyde’s Gastropub.
“It appears that everything was alright in the buildings. We did get into a few of them. Being that it’s a Sunday, we didn’t get in all of them, but the daycare did have some kids in there. They contacted parents to release them as a safety factor,” said Fahey.
No mandatory evacuations were required in the area.