ST. CHARLES, Mo. – An equipment malfunction at an Ameren substation caused power outages at Ameristar Casino and along the St. Charles riverfront on Sunday.

According to a St. Charles Fire Department spokesperson, the casino switched to diesel generators for power, which kicked a lot of black smoke into the air.

No fire engines were dispatched to the casino, while St. Charles Police were dispatched to direct customers out of the building.

The fire department said other parts of the city lost power as well.

Initially, the fire department spokesperson said the outages were the result of a small transformer fire.

However, an Ameren spokesperson told FOX 2 News that there was no fire at any Ameren facility. The equipment failure at the substation resulted in outages for approximately 250 customers, including Ameristar.

The spokesperson said Ameren utility crews were able to restore power in about 90 minutes.