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News - Nation

Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Transformer fire disrupts Ellis Island activities

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JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Fire officials say operations at Ellis Island have been widely disrupted by a transformer fire.

Armando Roman, director of Jersey City's Fire and Emergency Services Department, says firefighters were dispatched at about 12:50 p.m. after reports of an elevator emergency.

Roman said the incident was reported as a working fire because some people saw heavy smoke, but further investigation determined that a transformer had failed in the museum's mechanical room.

No injuries were reported, and an investigation is continuing.

Following the incident, visitors were taken off the small island in New York Harbor, although the nearby Statue of Liberty remained open.

From 1892 to 1954, more than 12 million immigrants entered the U.S. through Ellis Island.