BY SAM SPOKONY | Melting snow and salt caused an electrical fire that left two Canal St. buildings with a partial loss of power on the afternoon of Feb. 25, officials said.
About 50 firefighters rushed to the scene around 1:15 p.m., in response to reports of a smoking manhole just west of Hudson St., near the mouth of the Holland Tunnel. They soon realized that the blaze was coming from a Con Edison service box under the street, according to a Fire Department spokesperson.
Utility company workers quickly shut down the system, as firefighters put out some flames that had traveled to the basement of 499 Canal St., a four-story residential building. The blaze was under control by 2:25 p.m., the Fire Department spokesperson said.
Con Ed workers shut down the box around 3 p.m., leaving several apartments in the residential building and part of the adjoining 497 Canal St., a two-story commercial building, without electricity until around 4:30 p.m., according to a Con Ed spokesperson.
There were no injuries and no evacuations, authorities said.
Con Ed spokesperson Sidney Alvarez said last week’s warming temperatures melted leftover snow and ice, causing the incident.
“This kind of problem is caused basically because of snow and salt getting down into the service-box system,” said Alvarez.
