General News
17 March, 2026
Two electrical incidents on Friday
Whether locals truly find the date unlucky or claim it’s just western superstitions, nearly 500 Maryborough buildings were left without power after two local incidents last Friday, March 13.
Emergency services were called to an incident on the corner of Alma and Brougham streets just after midday on Friday when a truck knocked against a power pole.
Much of the town would have noticed a flicker within the home while police attended the scene to block the intersection.
Despite minimal destruction, a crew from Powercor came to replaced the damaged pole leaning out of the ground.
“Our crews attended the site and replace a power pole that was damaged after a truck hit it on Friday afternoon,” a spokesperson from Powercor said.
“This incident impacted power supply to about 496 customers in the Maryborough area. We restored power to all customers by around 5.15pm Friday. Thank you to those affected for their patience as we worked to safely restore power as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, Maryborough and Carisbrook fire brigades were called to the council offices on Nolan Street at about 1.10 pm.
Incident controller Isla Douglas said crews were still looking into the cause of the fault throughout the afternoon, but it is believed the incident was caused by an electrical fault on a higher floor.
“There was an electrical fault that caused a small fire to start in one of the upstairs meeting rooms ... by the time our appliances arrived, the fire had self extinguished,” she said.
Employees reported a strong smell and thin smoke in the affected area before being evacuated.
“That’s very common with electrical fires, you will get that electrical burning smell, it’s very common,” Ms Douglas said.
Maryborough Fire Brigade were on scene for about 45 minutes.
Following their investigations with a thermal imaging camera, the situation was handed to building maintenence and electricians.
Police also attended the incident, given the location of the fire and number of people evacuating.
There was no damage or injuries reported during the incident.
Ms Douglas praised the cooperation and evacuation procedures of those in the council building that afternoon.
“The staff did really well with their evacuation procedures,” she said.
While much of the Maryborough township experienced some form of power outage on Friday, Ms Douglas said the two incidents were not associated with each other.
“I don’t think they are related at all, they were two separate incidences,” she said.
