By Matt Draper and Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Staff
FLUSHING — Two manhole explosions rocked a residential Queens block early Monday, forcing the evacuation of one home and leading authorities to tow cars from the street as a precaution.
The first blast, the smaller of the two, happened at 8:30 a.m., FDNY Battalion Chief Vincent Mavaro said. Firefighters showed up and found nothing burning. They stayed for a half hour to monitor it, and left.
Then came the second blast.
One homeowner on the block, 73rd Street between 41st and Woodside avenues in Flushing, said he was watching TV at home at the time of the second blast, about 10:40 a.m.
"The whole house just shook," said the man, who would not give his name. "For a second I thought a car ran into the house."
He looked outside, saw "fire bursting" from a manhole in the street, and called 911. Smoke was coming from a Con Ed meter outside a neighboring house he owns, so he ran inside and told his tenant to get out.
No one was hurt in either blast. But authorities towed cars parked on the street as a precaution after smoke was seen coming out of a second manhole nearby.
Mavaro said the likely cause was salt from melted snow corroding electrical lines under the street.
This often happens after snowstorms, Mavaro said, and can lead to underground fires.
It also leads to high levels of carbon monoxide, as was the case Monday morning, he said.
More than a dozen FDNY and Con Ed trucks showed up at the scene. Utility crews cut power to a small handful of homes on the block. Power was expected to return later Monday.
