Blown manhole cover knocks out power for thousands in Canton, closes elementary school
By Tori Yorgey
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BALTIMORE (WBAL) — Thousands of residents in Southeast Baltimore lost power and an elementary school closed Wednesday after a manhole cover blew off.
“It just seemed like a bomb exploded; it was awful,” said Grace Stachlinski, who has lived in the neighborhood for almost 60 years.
The Baltimore City Fire Department told WBAL-TV 11 News that firefighters were called around 7:30 a.m. for a report of a manhole cover that had blown off in the 500 block of South Streeper Street, near Fleet Street. Fire officials said crews observed smoke coming from underground, but they did not see any visible fire.
Baltimore Gas and Electric said its crews responded to “an underground electric cable fault” that knocked out the power to about 4,000 customers, including a school. It took about four hours for power to be restored for a majority of customers.
Baltimore City Public Schools confirmed the closure of Hampstead Hill Academy in a statement sent to WBAL-TV 11 News, saying:
“At the direction of the Baltimore Fire Department, Hampstead Hill Academy was closed (Wednesday) out of an abundance of caution following reports of manhole explosions in the area surrounding the school. The incident also resulted in a power outage affecting the school. “The safety and wellbeing of our students and staff remain our highest priority. We are monitoring the situation and working with the appropriate agencies. At this time, we anticipate that Hampstead Hill will reopen for normal operations (Thursday).”
BGE said the city, which owns and maintains the underground system, will determine a cause for the incident.
“I said, ‘Maybe something dropped somewhere.’ But it wasn’t. It was a manhole that blew,” Stachlinski told WBAL-TV 11 News. “They closed the school because they couldn’t be in there with no electric.”
Baltimore City fire officials said no injuries were reported.
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