You are reading

Residents forced to evacuate their apartments following manhole fire

firetruck-250x250Feb. 6, 2015 By Michael Florio

Twenty-five Astoria residents were forced to evacuate their apartments this morning due to a manhole fire that caused carbon monoxide levels to spike.

The fire, which erupted near 30-90 38th Street, caused the carbon monoxide (CO) levels to rise inside the apartment building, which forced the evacuation. The FDNY responded to the call at 5:30 am.

A ConEd spokesman said the FDNY evacuated the residents at 7:30 am.

An MTA bus was called to the location to serve as a temporary shelter for those forced to evacuate, allowing them to escape the frigid temperatures.

The fire is believed to have been caused by salt, according to a ConEd spokesman.

“The Salt can run down and corrode the wires which can cause a fire or smoky condition,” he said.

At this time it is unclear if those forced to evacuate have been let back into their apartments.

The protocol for high carbon monoxide is usually to evacuate the building, open the windows and let the CO levels go down, an FDNY spokesman said.

There were no reported injuries, according to the FDNY.

ConEd said there have been no power outages as a result of the fire, the spokesman said.

ConEd crews remain on the scene.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Hate Crimes Task Force investigating bomb threats against Mamdani: NYPD

The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force launched a probe into multiple death threats made against Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani after his district office at 24-08 32nd St. in Astoria received four expletive-filled phone voicemails, on various dates, making threatening anti-Muslim statements by an unknown individual, including a threat to blow up his car.

The calls were made from an untraceable number and labeled the mayoral candidate a “terrorist who is not welcome in New York or America” in a message phoned in on Wednesday morning.

Queens Defenders founder charged with stealing nonprofit funds as second scandal unfolds

The founder of the Queens Defenders and her husband have lawyered up after they were indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the non-profit organization.

Former Queens Defenders executive director Lori Zeno, 64, surrendered Wednesday at the Brooklyn federal courthouse. Zeno was arraigned on an indictment charging her and Rashad Ruhani, 55, with wire fraud conspiracy, theft, money laundering conspiracy and other crimes.