Fire at Utility Plant Knocks out Power to Tens of Thousands in New York City

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, July 21, 2002

Fire at Utility Plant Knocks out Power to Tens of Thousands in New York City

A fire at a utility plant blacked out power for tens of thousands of people in a swath of lower Manhattan and snarled transportation around the city.

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New York Utility Plant on Fire

A fire at a utility plant blacked out power for tens of thousands of people in a swath of lower Manhattan and snarled transportation around the city.

Crews had restored electricity by early Saturday evening, largely ending an emergency that brought back disconcerting memories of the days after Sept. 11.

During Saturday's outage, residents around the fallen World Trade Center again found themselves navigating dark hallways and descending gloomy stairwells for dozens of floors as sirens wailed outside.

National Guardsmen, a fixture on the streets after the terrorist attack, returned, helping police direct traffic on roads crowded with onlookers. A stretch of Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive, a major highway along the east side of Manhattan, was closed.

Most subway traffic through downtown was suspended or rerouted. Smoke could be seen for miles (kilometers).

There was no evidence, though, that the midafternoon fire was caused by anything other than an accident, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

The apparent cause was a transformer explosion at the plant, which provides power for much of lower Manhattan, said Joe Petta, a Consolidated Edison spokesman.

About 63,000 customers lost power in areas south of 14th Street to the lower tip of Manhattan, the utility said. The neighborhoods affected included Greenwich Village, SoHo and Tribeca.

Nurses were seen working with flashlights at St. Vincent's Hospital, but administrators said critical care was not affected.

"Having gone through previous disasters such as 9-11, we are a pretty well-oiled machine," said hospital vice president William Grice.

Shops in the blacked-out areas began shutting their doors shortly after losing power.

"We have no choice, we have to close. Can't open the register, can't give anybody a receipt," said Jimmy Vejerano, manager of a discount store. "Plus the lights are out. It's a safety hazard. Nobody can see where they're going."

Consolidated Edison said some of its workers were inside the plant at the time of the explosion. No injuries were reported.

The utility said once the fire was out, workers would assess the damage to equipment and what repairs will be needed.

Source: Agencies

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