May 2, 2008 1:28 pm US/Eastern
Manhole Explosions Shut Down Harvard Square
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ) ―
Part of Harvard Square was shut down Friday morning because of an underground electrical fire. Several manholes exploded and the fire burned for hours.
Smoke and flames started shooting out of several manholes in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Dunster Street shortly after 2:30 a.m.
The flames were about 15 feet high at one point, before burning out about 5 hours later.
It took that long because authorities had to search for the right power lines to cut underground.
"They have to be careful, they don't want to put out the entire city of Cambridge," said Dept. Fire Chief Michael Kuhn.
Five buildings in the area were evacuated. No one was hurt.
A Cambridge fire department spokesman said Harvard University's Holyoke Center, which includes a student health care center, was one of the buildings cleared out.
Firefighters were concerned about a possible buildup of carbon monoxide in the neighborhood.
About 700 NStar customers in the area were without electricity for several hours before it was completely restored around 1 p.m.
An NStar spokeswoman said the fire resulted from a cable failure in a 4,000 volt line.
Red Line subway service through Harvard Square was not affected by the fire, but three bus routes were diverted for several hours before returning to their regular routes around 10:30 a.m.
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