A transformer fire in downtown Columbus Wednesday afternoon caused a power outage downtown and several reports of fires.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, the incidents started at about 3:53 p.m. Wednesday afternoon after a fire alarm went off at the Volunteers of America of Indiana residential building in the 700 block of Washington Street. Firefighters arrived to find residents being evacuated and no obvious signs of smoke or flames. But the building was without power and there was a faint smell of smoke inside.

Firefighters traced the alarm to a basement storage room where they found sprinklers had activated, dousing a fire that destroyed several shelved items.

Further investigation traced the outage to a nearby transformer which had an electrical arc, sending a surge of energy into the building. The ground wire carried the charge into the building, where the cable was wrapped around a water pipe, which transferred the charge to the metal storage rack holding the items.

A witness also reported seeing sparks coming from the transformer fire behind the Washington Street address.

Damage from the fire was isolated to the storage room.

While firefighters worked at the first scene, they received reports of a strong electrical odor at Yes Cinema on Jackson Street but there was no evidence of a fire.

Once power was restored downtown, the fire alarm system at the Armory Apartments on Washington Street alerted to a structure fire there. But firefighters couldn’t find any sign of a fire there, and suspect the original electrical disturbance triggered the alarm once power had been restored.

Fire investigators say that the sprinkler system at the Volunteers of America of Indiana residential building also put out a cooking fire at the building in March.