Underground transformer fire causes smoke on Argyle Road, Brooklyn

What happened

An underground transformer fire on Argyle Road in Brooklyn, New York, sent smoke plumes up and down the street on the morning of Monday 27 March 2017. Firefighters were called to the address 322 Argyle Road after 10am. Fire Department of New York (FDNY) crews and National Grid trucks were on scene, with fire appliances and caution tape around a contained area on the ground. Firefighters checked residents in the houses lining the block, and neighbours reported that some households had lost power.

No injuries had been reported at the time of publication. The principal of nearby P.S. 139 met FDNY officials to check the school's carbon monoxide detectors. As of 11am the school was not being evacuated. The article reports that this was the second electrical fire on the block that winter, following a manhole fire in February.

Contributing factors

Firefighters on the street said transformer fires tend to occur at this time of winter and are triggered by runoff from road salt and snowmelt. This was not confirmed as the cause of this incident in the source.

Lessons learned

1. Underground transformers and manholes in winter need inspection for water ingress and salt-related corrosion, particularly where road salt and meltwater collect.
2. Responders should keep the public well clear of manhole covers and ground-level plumes while the fault is isolated.
3. Checking nearby buildings for carbon monoxide and welfare, as the fire service did at the school, is a sensible step when smoke spreads through a densely built block.
4. Repeated electrical events on the same street suggest that operators should review fault history and prioritise asset replacement or monitoring.

More lessons on maintenance, inspection and ageing assets, electrical protection and isolation, fire suppression and firefighting, detection and monitoring, from every incident on the register.

Source

bklyner.com