loodvig
04-12-2008, 09:03 AM
An early-morning manhole fire in downtown Boston sent two utility workers to the hospital with minor burns and injuries.
The two Nstar workers were working inside the manhole when their equipment malfunctioned, setting off a flash fire just before 2:30 a.m. yesterday at Summer and Otis streets, near Downtown Crossing.
Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the two workers were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Nstar spokesman Michael Durand said both workers were treated for minor burns and other injuries and then released.
It does appear that it was some kind of cable failure, Durand said.
cw2But he stressed that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Mayor Thomas Menino said aging underground infrastructure may have contributed to the mishap.
Fire crews were on the scene for about 30 minutes.
The two Nstar workers were working inside the manhole when their equipment malfunctioned, setting off a flash fire just before 2:30 a.m. yesterday at Summer and Otis streets, near Downtown Crossing.
Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the two workers were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Nstar spokesman Michael Durand said both workers were treated for minor burns and other injuries and then released.
It does appear that it was some kind of cable failure, Durand said.
cw2But he stressed that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Mayor Thomas Menino said aging underground infrastructure may have contributed to the mishap.
Fire crews were on the scene for about 30 minutes.