Fire, smoke pour out of Brockton manhole

BROCKTON, Mass. — Police in Brockton spent several hours on the scene of Main Street Friday where explosions knocked several manhole covers into the air.

According to Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter, at least three manholes exploded near 130 Main Street and several buildings have been evacuated. National Grid shut off power to neighboring buildings.

“When we arrived here, there was three manhole covers that had smoke coming out of them. There was several between 10-15 explosions underground,” Deputy Brockton Fire Chief Mark Baker said.

At one location a car parked over a manhole also caught fire. SkyFox was flying over the scene as that car fire was extinguished.

“It literally felt like we were at war, and it was scary, like some of my customers asking for the back door, I said yes and that's when we all evacuated,” cafe owner Sandra Elvera Martin said.

The explosions were likely caused by an electrical issue.

Several cars were damaged but nobody was hurt by the explosions.

Cox Media Group