Electrical equipment bursts into flames on Staten Island, KO’s power for thousands

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A piece of electrical equipment burst into flames in Dongan Hills Wednesday afternoon, knocking out power for thousands on the East Shore, prompting evacuations and sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

The equipment, described by a source at the scene as a Con Edison substation, could be seen engulfed in flames in a fenced-in area on Hylan Boulevard and Dongan Hills Avenue.

Due to the massive FDNY and Con Edison response, traffic on Hylan was blocked for several hours as officials worked to contain the blaze.

A resident who lives immediately next to the substation described hearing a “small explosion” before seeing flames bursting from the equipment and his power going out.

Firefighters could be seen spraying the blaze with a substance known as Purple-K, a dry powder fire suppressant, and then foam, which are used to contain electrical fires.

Several traffic lights on Hylan Boulevard were out due to the outage, causing extensive traffic delays as vehicles navigated the busy intersections during the after-school rush.

Approximately 3,700 customers were without power in Dongan Hills and Midland Beach at the height of the emergency response, according to a spokesman for Con Edison.

Service was restored to mostly all residents without power by 5:15 p.m., according to a Con Edison spokesman and the utility’s online outage map.

FDNY RESPONSE

Twelve FDNY units and 60 firefighters responded…