A series of manhole fires resulted in many residents losing power around Broadway and 107th-109th streets Sunday night. Multiple people said they heard a loud explosion around 8 p.m. “There was a manhole explosion on 109th street!” wrote one. “Firefighters were telling people I clear the block or go into closed doors on Sunday night and the electricity went out.”
Emergency services sent the following notice:
“Due to multiple manhole fires, expect emergency personnel in the vicinity of West 107th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. To report a loss of electric service, contact Con Edison at 1-800-752-6633. If you are affected by an outage, turn off all appliances, avoid downed and hanging power lines, and keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed to prevent food spoilage. Do not use generators indoors. If you are having a life threatening medical emergency and need immediate assistance, please dial 9-1-1. Report power outages to Con Edison at 1-800-752-6633 or, if you have a speech or hearing impairment, report outages to 1-800-642-2308.”
Update: A resident of one of the effected buildings told us her power was back on by Monday evening.
Photo of a resident with a flashlight inside 245 West 107th street by @spiritbearny.
Thanks to our tipster for the top and bottom photos.
I heard the explosion too. I thought my room shook. I’m on 108th. But this was after 8:30pm. I called 911and they plugged me right in that FDNY so I knew something was up. LaterI spoke to a guy who said he was in Riverside Park and he heard it and that the ground shook.
It’s not the first time this has happened in the W107th Street area. Pre 1992 (before I moved to NJ) a manhole exploded and we lost power. Every appliance that was in use at the time (not idling) was fried. If your fridge compressor was running at the time your fridge was junk. Several other appliances were done for. I created a form to list all the problems and appliances which were affected for my building and put a pocket in the elevator with the blanks. When the inspectors came they asked me for a filled out form. It helped keep the whole nasty event pretty well organized. Con Ed paid all claims. Once I endorsed the backside I had signed away any other claim against the problem. So make sure you have all the info and list it for them….
Are you referring to the time
Con Ed drilled a pipe into the main electrical feed to 262? You were in 1A? Yes, that was lots of fun. This one was easier I think. I watched the crews pulling cable for 24 hours. The electricity in 245 was back on in 19 hours. I’ve talked with a few residents and nobody seems to have lost anything…the lights just flickered and then died. The initial explosions were really scary though. Firetrucks were in the street even before they blew – someone called in a bad smell.
How strange! I saw ConEd working on 110th near Manhattan Ave earlier in the day. Hmmm…
They’ve been doing roadwork on Amsterdam between 106 and 108 all summer– sorry, I should say “below the road” work and just turned the corner onto 108 heading east where they excavated the deepest pit I’ve seen in a while- coincidence? A guy told my husband they were putting in bike lanes which is BS- well, maybe it’s true but they’re obviously doing something else (to start with, it’s the wrong side of the street ). We were fortunate enough not to lose electric but our tv and Internet have been out since then (TWC) and who knows when we’ll get that back . Garden of Eden looked like it was still without power this afternoon- must be a mess in there.