NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A 30-foot high fireball erupted from an open manhole this morning during an electrical fire which closed New Rochelle High School. Two Con Edison workers, standing just a few feet away, were narrowly missed by the strong blast of flames which resembled a rocket firing.
The incident began with reports of the smell of smoke at the school about 10:00 a.m.
“The firehouse got a call of smoke coming from a manhole in front of the high school,” said New Rochelle Fire Chief Louis DiMeglio. “The silent alarm was pulled.”
DiMeglio said that carbon monoxide readings taken by firefighters showed CO levels were elevated and the school was evacuated.
As the fire department responded, smoke was visible filtering through a manhole cover in the sidewalk above a Con Edison vault containing electrical equipment near the front entrance of New Rochelle High School on Clove Road.
Forty-five minutes later, with rain pouring down on students, a decision was made to move the students in doors. Students were directed to the school auditorium, the gymnasium and the cafeteria in the “new wing”.
When the fireball came shooting out of the manhole, at about 11:00 a.m., the building lost power. Students in the Whitney Young Auditorium were plunged into complete darkness. No emergency lights came on. Many students with flashlight-capability on their smart phones activated them, lighting the room and allowing students to exit safely. Moments later students were informed of early dismissal and began to leave the school grounds.
“There was an explosion in the manhole,” said DiMeglio. “We are not not sure of the cause”.
He said that Con Edison would investigate the cause once the power was turned off to the high tension feeders in the below ground vault where the main feeder cables that supply power to the school were burning.
When the fire department got to the scene heavy smoke was coming from a manhole located at the front entrance of the school on Clove Road.
Fire department crews checked the building and there was heavy smoke in the basement of the school and high levels of Carbon monoxide around the basement area. Con Edison was requested on an expedited basis to the scene.
Police on scene closed streets around the school.
DiMeglio was asked about the interaction with the school regarding special needs students which had been problem after a fire incident in January which is now the subject of a Department of Justice investigation. DiMeglio said he was satisfied with the response.
Talk of the Sound independently confirmed that Jennifer Feltenstein and Michael Martinez were not in the school when the incident began.
DiMeglio said the power was off inside the school. He added that although there have been other problems in that area in recent months the vault involved in today’s fire was not the one involved in previous incidents.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated from the original “live blogging” report.
News12: New Rochelle High School students released early due to manhole fire (great video of the fireball!)
NOTE: The accompanying article on News12.com says “One student said there was a lot of panic during the explosion because the lights went off. He said everyone used flashlights and smartphones to light up the room and help in the evacuation process”.
That is Collins Cox, my son who is in 10th grade at NRHS! 🙂
He is in the video.