Sparks and smoke shoot from street

Smoke and flames came up out of the ground in front of 255 Fieldston Road. Photo by Karsten Moran

By Kevin Deutsch

A ferocious underground fire caused by a snipped power cable sent fireballs and electricity shooting out of the ground at West 251st Street and Post Road Monday morning, injuring five people — including one firefighter — and setting an apartment ablaze, authorities said.

“My apartment burned down!” screamed Ana Ortiz, whose first-floor unit was scorched. “Everything’s in there. What am I going to do?”

The first fireball erupted shortly before 9 a.m. when a contractor doing sewage work for the city accidentally cut an underground power cable with a backhoe, triggering a short circuit, firefighters said. The electrical room in the basement of 255 Fieldston Terrace caught fire as a result, spreading to Ortiz’s first-floor apartment and sending dozens of frightened residents scurrying out of smoke-shrouded apartments.

Aboveground power lines crackled and burned with electricity and surging flames all along Post Road, cutting power to more than 200 apartments. A utility pole caught fire amid the chaos, sending rescue workers ducking for cover from flames and falling sparks.

Among the injured: an elderly man who fell down the stairs while trying to flee his darkened building; a firefighter who hurt his back and shoulder during the melee; and three people sickened by smoke. None of the injuries were considered life threatening.

“It was overwhelming,” said Elizabeth Kurtz, 68, who was carried out of the scorched building on a stretcher and treated for smoke inhalation. “The smoke was so acrid. No one knew what was happening.”

Ms. Kurtz’s building was evacuated over fears that dangerous levels of carbon monoxide had been released, but no one succumbed to the odorless gas.

More than 40 firefighters worked to douse the flames and evacuate frightened residents.

“It was nerve-racking,” said Debby Sunday, 52, one of the evacuees. “The lights went out. We heard explosions. Then they were banging on our doors.”

John Smollen, 44, could hear the “thumping of the voltage” and whoosh of flames as he scooped up his frazzled cat, Furtig, and hustled out of his building. The former city tunnel-builder had been burning incense in his apartment when he sniffed a different sort of smoke.

“You could feel the power and smell the fire,” said Mr. Smollen, his trembling kitty hiding inside his jacket. “You could hear the pressure of the voltage knocking around.”

Most of the neighborhood’s power was restored by Monday night. But the disaster had already taken a heavy toll.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Ms. Ortiz told neighbors before returning to her charred apartment. “How could this happen?”

This is part of the October 22, 2009 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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