Nearly 40 Brooklyn businesses without power due to manhole fire in Red Hook
Con Edison and the FDNY performed a safety check of all units and surrounding buildings.
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A smoky and FDNY-lined Van Brunt Street sent neighbors pouring out onto the pavement after a manhole fire resulted in 35 people without power in Red Hook.
The FDNY said that it received a call of the manhole fire on Van Brunt Street between Sackett Street and Union Avenue just before 11:30 a.m.
Con Edison and the FDNY performed a safety check of all units and surrounding buildings.
According to some neighbors, the FDNY took nearly 30 minutes to battle the blaze inside the manhole, throwing water down it repeatedly, before engulfing the flame.
"There was a lot of smoke, and the firemen tried to put it out," says Gianmarco, a local business owner. "There is a little but of power but not much - you cannot use the air conditioner."
With temperatures soaring up to 100 degrees on Tuesday, other business owners brought in a backup generator, hoping to keep their produce fresh and from overheating.
"It's very bad, we have no power we have a lot of meat and stuff so we don't know what to do," said Ali, owner of MCH Halah Meat Packing.
The FDNY tells News 12 that Con Edison is still working to restore full power back to the neighborhood.
