Fire in the hole by Brooklyn Borough Hall

Manhole fire, but no one hurt

February 13, 2014 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Close call, Borough Hall!

Fire in a manhole Thursday afternoon could have turned a stormy day into a very tragic one for some luckless Downtown Brooklyn denizens.

The manhole – in the traffic triangle at the intersection of Court and Joralemon streets – kept its lid on, though firefighters had been dispatched with word of an explosion.

No one was hurt, a firefighter at the scene told the Brooklyn Eagle.

The manhole is just feet away from Brooklyn Borough Hall and the busy Municipal Building, with lots of pedestrians and cars passing by despite the nasty weather.

Two fire trucks pulled up around 3:45 p.m. as wind-driven sleet fell. Firefighters briefly inspected the scene, which had been roped off with yellow FDNY hazard tape, then left.

It all started with a call heard over a police scanner around 3:10 p.m. asking the FDNY to respond to a call about a “smoking” manhole. Five minutes later, a second call came telling firefighters saying it was reportedly an “exploding” manhole.

Citywide, there were scads of smoking manholes during the foul weather. And in Brooklyn, more than 200 Con Ed customers lost electric service.