Multiple manhole cover explosions darken Baltimore's skyline, prompting investigation

BALTIMORE -- An underground fire caused evacuations, cut power and created a mess in parts of downtown Baltimore. It started just before 10 p.m. Thursday in the 300 block of North Charles Street.  

BGE announced on Friday evening that it was trying to restore power to roughly 60 people around that block.

"Currently, BGE anticipates restoring the vast majority of customers overnight," gas and electric staff said in a statement. "As we work toward full restoration, customers may experience additional temporary service interruptions during the restoration process so that new underground electric cables can be installed. BGE appreciates our customers' patience during this work and the coordinated efforts with Baltimore City to ensure it is performed safely and as quickly as possible."

Josh Eyuboglu was evacuated from the pizza shop he owns, which remains closed. This hurt his business on a busy Friday. 

"We lose money. I'm just hoping we can cover tonight," Eyuboglu said. "I saw that fire underground. I don't know what was burning, but I think the cables. I never had an experience before like this."

BGE workers piled the burned cables near manholes and removed longer segments using a truck with a large spool. 

The fire department is still working to determine the cause. 

"Our crews arrived within minutes, and they did find a large volume of smoke being admitted through manhole covers as well as vaults in the ground," Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace told WJZ.

He said firefighters had to wait for BGE to shut off power to some buildings before they could extinguish the flames. 

"We did aggressively attack the fire and were able to suppress that fire in a matter of minutes," Wallace said.

The fire also briefly cut off 911 service and caused some issues at nearby Mercy Medical Center.

"OEM sent resources to Mercy, which did lose some power, but the emergency room was able to remain open and operate normally," said Joey Henderson, who directs the city's Office of Emergency Management.

The fire is one of several underground incidents downtown in recent years, including a steam pipe explosion.

As for the current disruptions, the city is hoping to get Charles Street cleaned up and back to normal soon. 

"I'm just glad nobody got hurt and there were no injuries," said Jack Rolker who owns an insurance business. "It looks pretty messed up still."

The fire closed the Mitchell and Cummings Courthouses for the day and also caused disruptions to light rail, which is now operating normally. 

Mayor Brandon Scott praised the "high level of coordination that happened rapidly" and said he was "extremely happy that there were no injuries from this incident."  

In:
• Manhole Explosion
• Fire
• Baltimore City