YARMOUTH — Firefighters spent an hour Tuesday morning controlling a fire that broke out in a panel of electrical panels at the Wyman Energy Center on Cousins Island.

Staff at the power plant reported the fire shortly after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Chief Michael Robitaille said the fire in a bank of electrical panels may have been caused by an energy surge or malfunction.

It took 18 firefighters about an hour to get the fire under control and another hour to finish their work at the scene, Robitaille said. The power station has its own fire brigade, but didn’t have enough personnel on scene to deal with the fire, he said.

Robitaille said the panels and wiring will have to be replaced. Some operations at the plant were shut down temporarily.