Mass Power station explodes

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Power station explodes

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff, 6/11/2000

BRIGHTON - An electric transformer in a thickly settled neighborhood exploded yesterday, showering a cookout, two homes, and cars with insulating oil but injuring no one, Boston Edison Co. officials said.

The 5 p.m. explosion caused a small fire inside the fenced Edison facility at 288 Lincoln St. The fire was still burning about an hour later as fire crews waited for it to go out.

Residents said they had heard a bang then saw a mist of oil. Edison officials said the substance was mineral oil. Cleanup teams from Edison and Clean Harbors were at the scene late yesterday.

''It boomed when I was getting the ketchup out of the fridge,'' said 7-year-old Kellie Walsh. ''I dropped the ketchup.''

The Walsh family's cookout was ruined. Everyone splashed with oil was asked to take a shower. Fire officials roped off oil-splattered cars nearby on Mansfield Street until the cleanup crews arrived.

''The backyard, you can't use it,'' said Tim Walsh, who was cooking at the time of the explosion.

No power outages resulted from the explosion, although Edison customers throughout the region experienced sporadic outages that were related to yesterday's high temperatures. By 8 p.m., about 1 percent of Boston Edison customers in Woburn, Newton, and Winchester were without power, a company spokeswoman said.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/163/metro/Power_station_explodes%2b.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 11, 2000


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