A three-alarm electrical fire in a Con Edison substation in Douglaston sent a column of oily black smoke hundreds of feet into the air, drew firefighters from as far away as the Bronx and snarled traffic for hours, to kick off the last weekend in July.
The fire began in one of two “step down” transformers at the corner of Northern Boulevard and 244th street and was reported at 7:53 a.m. on Friday, July 24.
Cooling oil inside the 27,000-volt electrical equipment ignited, sending flames 30 feet into the air, threatening private homes and a community center next door.
Firefighters from a company a block away were controlling the scene within minutes, but because of the lethal voltages involved, operations were limited to flooding the surrounding structures, until Con Ed workers could shut down power to the site.
Almost immediately, an “all-hands” call went out; a second-alarm was called moments later. Just before 9 a.m., a third alarm was declared, bringing hundreds of firefighters, police, emergency service workers and representatives from the Office of Emergency Management, Department of Environmental Protection, City Councilmember Tony Avella and the Queens District Attorney’s Arson and Economic Crimes Unit.
Northern Boulevard was closed in both directions from the Cross Island Parkway to Alameda Avenue/248th Street for a time, according to 111th Precinct commander Deputy Inspector Scott Hanover.
Eastbound, Northern Boulevard was still closed at the Cross Island Parkway and westbound traffic was still being diverted from Northern Boulevard along Alameda Avenue to Douglaston Parkway into the afternoon.
The intense heat from the blaze could be felt by neighbors witnessing the inferno from 100 feet away, in the yard of Zion Episcopal Church across Northern Boulevard.
“I was on my way to grocery shopping when I heard the sirens,” said Elizabeth Holtkamp, wife of the church’s pastor.
Holtkamp expressed concern for the neighbors and the loss of century-old trees in the immediate area, including the church’s historic graveyard, where the heat from the fire was oppressive, even at the distance.
As if to punctuate her concern, a small explosion in the transformer enclosure sent a jet of burning fluid in the direction of the Pride of Judea Community Center at 9:07 a.m.
Shortly before10:30 a.m., with assurances that all power to the site was shut off, firefighters attacked the blaze directly with foam, before entering the structure with hand-lines to extinguish any “hot spots.”
The fire was declared under control just before 11 a.m.
Fire Marshals are investigating the cause of the blaze, according to William Law, commander of the Citywide North Command. A FDNY spokesperson said there were no injuries.
