A startling number of manholes exploded last night and early this morning, with as many as 13 blowing on Norman Avenue in Greenpoint. No one was injured, luckily, but let this serve as a reminder that salt + melting snow = corroded electric wires, and that's bad news for manholes, and their poor covers.
Over a dozen manhole covers blew starting around 2:40 a.m. and lasting through 6 a.m. this morning on Norman Avenue in Greenpoint. Around midnight, a manhole explosion caused a fire on a block in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. Scanner reports show potential manhole fires in Chelsea, Queens Village, Fairmont - Claremont Village in the Bronx, and in Hudson Heights last night and into the morning. Crown Heights got hit with an explosion yesterday.
We're nearly out of manhole explosion season—Park Slope got hit particularly hard this year—but considering the melting snow and salt that'll probably coat our streets following Friday's cold snap, it's good to be wary. When salt corrodes cables, they can catch fire or unleash gas that eventually blows off a manhole cover. There have certainly been injuries thanks to this phenomenon, plus the explosions can release carbon monoxide into nearby homes. We also make it a practice not to step on any cover marked "Con Ed," and that goes for our pets, too.
Please make winter end.
