Midnight Manhole Fire in Rye

A manhole fire in Rye occurred Wednesday night on Purdy Avenue, flaming for almost an hour above ground before firefighters flooded the hole with water and got the fire under control.

The fire occurred shortly before midnight and was caused by a burning power cable underground, according to Michael Clendenin, a spokesperson for Consolidated Edison. Clendenin said the fire did not cause any power outages as of 12:15 a.m. 

No one was injured in the incident.

Rye firefighters and police arrived on the scene to find smoke billowing from a manhole located on a block between the post office and Sunrise Pizza on Purdy Avenue.

The fire appeared to subside before more flames and smoke poured from the manhole and into the air. 

More than seven firefighters were on the scene, along with several police officers. Crews kept an eye on the fire and asked bystanders, several of whom stood to watch the incident, to back away from the scene.

Minutes later, crews used fire hoses to flood the hole with what appeared to be gallons of water. 

A Con Edison emergency truck arrived and a supervisor from the company surveyed the scene along with local authorities. The supervisor also checked a utility pole near the manhole.

On Thursday, Jane Solnick, a spokesperson in Con Edison's Westchester office, said the street is safe and is not closed off to traffic. No buildings lost power as a result of the incident, Solnick said.

She said crews are working on Purdy Avenue to resolve the issue and will be there all day Thursday and likely part of the day Friday.

Wednesday's manhole fire on Purdy Avenue is the second in just two months. 

On --just a block away from Wednesday's incident--shut off power at the CVS and post office near Boston Post Road.

The fire began in one manhole and spread to another and was caused by a few damaged power cables that shorted underground.

The fire was extinguished within a few hours, after Rye firefighters flooded the manhole. No one was injured and no property was damaged in the December incident.

However, a number of local buildings lost power. In addition to CVS and the post office, the police station, Wachovia Bank and Shell gas station also were without power for a number of hours.