Manhole Fire In New York VIDEOS: Flames Burst From Midtown Manholes

An underground fire caused chaos in midtown Tuesday afternoon, sending flames into the streets, shutting down Broadway shows, and leaving hundreds of tourists without a place to stay.

At about 4:30 pm a transformer fire burnt three 13,000 volt cables, causing a three-alarm fire. Over a 130 firefighters rushed to the scene to put out the flames.

Amazingly, there were no reports of injuries.

Among the four buildings that had to be evacuated was the Novotel Hotel after high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the basement.

FDNY Deputy Chief Jay Jonas told WPIX that the levels reached as high as 700 parts per million, which is enough to "kill someone with just a few breaths."

Tuesday night's performance of Jersey Boys was also canceled due to the fire.

The manhole explosion and subsequent fires were caught on tape by a number of cameras.

Amateur video of the manhole exploding:

Footage of firefighters trying to put out the flames:

More footage of people dodging as flames shoot out of a manhole:  

Comments

[ambonilla]

10:26 AM on 04/07/2010

Well, this time Con Ed can't blame it on melting road salt, thunder from a rainstorm or a heat wave. The ancient infrastructure desperately needs upgrading. It's time for a publicly owned utility that serves public needs. No, this is not socialism, this is realism. There is no room for extracting profit from the system when the need for massive upgrading is so great. Enough people have died or been injured in explosions and power outages. Enough is enough.

[jackie215]

01:04 PM on 04/07/2010

Say it again.

[wadenelson1]

09:34 AM on 04/07/2010

Some gay newspaper headline writer's gonna have a field day with this one.

[mesomorph]

01:35 PM on 04/07/2010

fire in the hole?

[EmmaJ76]

04:09 PM on 04/07/2010

Why can't it be "some headline writer" - you don;t have to be gay to come up with homoerotica style one liners.

[Totto]

03:07 PM on 05/03/2010

wadenelson has a little problem of his own.

[wadenelson1]

09:20 AM on 04/07/2010

On television and in the movies the manhole covers are always STEAMING.

I guess NYC is taking it up a notch.....

[EmmaJ76]

04:09 PM on 04/07/2010

They steam in real life too -

[Draughtsman]

09:20 AM on 04/07/2010

Looks like Lex Luthor is at it again.

[Michael Hart]

09:07 AM on 04/07/2010

Bloomberg should spend his own cash updating NYC's ancient infrastructure. How many more blackouts, fires, and explosions will it take. It's clear that people won't tolerate tax hikes to fix anything because it's "socialist". All administrative chronyism and mismanagement aside, seriously, the trains barely run when it rains a little.

[gal416]

09:00 AM on 04/07/2010

Holy flaming manholes, Batman!

[Zillacabra]

09:15 AM on 04/07/2010

The chili contest must be in town.

[stencil62]

08:49 AM on 04/07/2010

Infostructure again. Why don't we have a jobs program that fixes our crumbling infostructure, roosevelt did time for Obama to start one.

[Zillacabra]

09:16 AM on 04/07/2010

That's your problem right there. It's INFRAstructure. Crumbling infostructure is a library after an earthquake.

[wadenelson1]

09:20 AM on 04/07/2010

LMAO!!!!! Good one!

[quindy]

11:00 AM on 04/07/2010

Crumbling INFOSTRUCTURE is what is going on right now in the mass media. As for the infrastructure the improvements cannot come too soon.

[jackie215]

01:06 PM on 04/07/2010

Miss Latella the word is INFRASTRUCTURE.

[Ljilja]

08:12 AM on 04/07/2010

New York City - always full of drama and surprises! Every day is an adventure.

http://graciouslivingdaybyday.com/

[Dexterplastic]

08:03 AM on 04/07/2010

"Manhole Man blames Legumes"

A Queens man apologized after breaking wind and lighting a cigarette at the same time. Apparently 46 year old Mike Ozemandious of Flatbush called police to report he was responsible for a fireball in downtown Manhattan. Ozemandious proclaimed his remorse at a tense statement that read, "Although I did get lost off the D train, and I had visited The Beanery Restaurant on 43rd, I was unaware that I had entered a sewer and blown the rim off a 120 pound manhole cover. I apologize to all who were indifferent to the event as they passed by. I'm now entering rehab for flatulence, and I hope you will give my family the privacy we need in this aromatic time."

[david5000]

08:02 AM on 04/07/2010

Flammable material is only part of the junk and toxins people throw in the sour system, and to think that people drink the municipal water , just the thought is making me sick.

[Michael Hart]

09:02 AM on 04/07/2010

The drinking water in NYC is among the cleanest in the country. It comes from a network of reservoirs in and around Westchester County about 1-2 hrs north west of the city. The water is tested constantly both at the sources and from the tap. Both the EPA and the DEP take the matter very seriously.

[wadenelson1]

09:24 AM on 04/07/2010

Yep, and if the FEDS allow the oil & gas companies to "frac", hydraulically FRACTURE in and around those reservoirs it'll be GOODBY purity, HELLO BENZINE, HELLO METHANE

We've got nearby residents here in Colorado with wells contaminated with methane due to nearby gas wells, they can literally LIGHT THEIR TAP ON FIRE.

Here's the video / proof:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/23/colorado-drilling-operati_n_473190.html

[schatsie]

07:54 AM on 04/07/2010

And nobody wants to spend federal money on the infrastructure like we did back in the 1950s....when tax rates on the rich were 91%.....and the highway system was built.....Of course if we get Goldman Sucks involved, the Wall Street fees will eat up 80% of the cost....See the Rolling Stone Article about Birmingham and their water system in the March 2010 issue and online.....

[gigantor21]

07:24 AM on 04/07/2010

This sounds like one of the obstacles in a Sonic game or something.

Not the kind of comparison you want your city's infrastructure to engender... :p

[dvsinla]

06:41 AM on 04/07/2010

i love the person standing there on the street crossing. they barely seem affected. it's new york. move on. ha.

[Igor13]

05:51 AM on 04/07/2010

This is a perfect example of why fire-breathing dragons should not be sold as pets!
People get tired of them after a few 3rd degree burn mishaps and down the toilet they go .

[EmmaJ76]

06:41 AM on 04/07/2010

LOL! FAnned.

[Igor13]

03:55 PM on 04/07/2010

Thanks!!! Back at ya!!

[wadenelson1]

09:18 AM on 04/07/2010

*ding, ding, ding*

WE HAVE A WINNER

[sb250guy]

05:02 AM on 04/07/2010

Flaming Manholes?

Is that a new nightclub?

[jackie215]

01:08 PM on 04/07/2010

LOL!

[ena]

08:44 PM on 04/07/2010

Nope. Old fad regains renewed following.