After snow, power outages and manhole fires break out in Brooklyn

Emergency vehicles lined Smith Street near Warren Street after manhole explosions Monday morning. Photo courtesy of Dwidson Metayer

BOROUGHWIDE — More than 900 Con Edison customers across Brooklyn and an equal number in Queens lost electrical power Monday, as salt and melting snow damaged underground infrastructure. By Tuesday around noon, roughly 470 customers in Brooklyn were still without power, along with 325 in Queens.

Dozens of exploding manholes were reported over the weekend and into Monday. Manholes went up in flames in Boerum Hill and Cobble Hill early Monday morning, where numerous residents along Warren and Smith streets lost power.

“We had an electrical fire coming out of a manhole on Warren Street in front of the Lily Rose [318 Warren St.],” a nearby resident who did not want her name published told the Brooklyn Eagle on Monday. “Looks like the flames shooting into the air have finally died down but the air is horrible. Firemen are on the scene. My lights are flickering so trying not to turn on power but will try and charge my phone now. ConEd called me around 7 a.m. to tell me they were aware of my reported outage.”

Con Edison cut power to multiple Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill residents for safety reasons during repairs. Power was turned back on in her Warren Street building around 5:20 p.m., the resident reported.

Firefighters in Monday’s early-morning fog responding to the Smith Street manhole explosions. Photo courtesy of Dwidson Metayer

While Boerum Hill resident Dwidson Metayer said he wasn’t personally affected, he shared with the Eagle photos showing firefighters in the early-morning fog responding to the Smith Street explosions, and the soggy aftermath of the fires on the street.

Cobble Hill resident Loretta, responding to this reporter’s question on the Nextdoor app, said her building didn’t lose power, “But I did see ConEd and/or National Grid trucks on Court between Degraw and Sackett, and Clinton was closed off between Degraw and Kane.”

Similar issues were taking place in the Columbia Street Waterfront District. “A manhole exploded on Columbia Street at Congress; smoke was pouring out and a good Samaritan was directing cars around it,” reported Lisa, who lives nearby. Janet from Carroll Gardens, however, had better news. “No outages here,” she said.

By 4 p.m. Tuesday most of the Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill problems were repaired, but 252 customers in Seagate, 62 in Bushwick, 22 in Brownsville, and hundreds more were without power across Brooklyn.

Traffic cones blocked Smith Street during emergency repairs Monday morning. Photo courtesy of Dwidson Metayer

Not the first of the season

This weekend’s explosions were not the first of the winter season. Ellen from Flatbush said she had received “several notices from Citizen App regarding manhole fires/explosions in the last few days. Most of them are in the Kensington area of Brooklyn (Church Avenue, Ocean Parkway, etc.).”

Leah from Flatbush told the Eagle that on Dec. 20 in front of 255 Ocean Ave, “It was insane, no gas or power all day, I thought a car was on fire, but it was just parked over the sewer grate. Scary.“

And Maggie from Fort Greene reported a manhole explosion “a few weeks ago” on Hansen Place, around 4 or 5 a.m. “I happened to be awake, and it was incredibly loud and scary. (I’m blocks away at Lafayette and South Oxford for reference.) It sounded like a bomb went off. I was thinking it was lucky that it didn’t happen when more people were out and about.”

Salt and snow, says ConEd

“Following winter storms like the one we just experienced, our electric delivery equipment is impacted by the effects of melting snow and street salt that enters our underground infrastructure,” a ConEd spokesperson told the Brooklyn Eagle on Monday. “Salt water is corrosive and can damage cable connections, sometimes resulting in smoking or fire conditions. Our crews continue to work to make repairs and restore service as quickly and safely as possible.”

She added that ConEd prepares in advance for bad weather and makes “robust infrastructure investments” to provide reliable service.

The Fire Department of New York warns that manhole fires generate carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, tasteless and toxic gas which may result in an explosion. “If you see a manhole that is smoking, don’t hesitate to call 911 right away,” said FDNY Lieutenant Tom McGarry in a public service announcement. “And remember to have a working smoke and carbon monoxide detector in your home,” he added.