2 people hurt, buildings evacuated after manhole explosions in downtown Boston

BOSTON – Two people were hurt and two buildings in downtown Boston were evacuated Thursday morning after a pair of manhole explosions.

It happened around 9 a.m. on High Street near Summer Street.

Deputy Fire Chief Brian Tully said one woman suffered burns. She was able to walk to the ambulance for treatment and Boston Police described the injuries as minor.

Mayor Michelle Wu said later that a second person also suffered minor injuries. “I’m very grateful there weren’t people directly right nearby,” Wu said.

It’s the second time manholes in Boston have exploded in the last couple weeks. On May 17, two of them went up in flames on Boylston Street in the Back Bay.

“We’re looking to follow very closely what the investigation tells us, and we’ll act appropriately,” Wu said. “We are getting to the bottom of what has happened, and making sure that area right now is very safe.”

Matthew Claver works on Summer Street and heard the explosions.

“It was a loud explosion. We were on the 23rd floor here. We weren’t really sure what it was, but we knew it was loud. We felt the floor shake. About 30 seconds later another explosion, same thing. So that was when we just all got together and decided it was time to leave and get out of the building,” he said. “We just hope everybody’s OK.”  

Another man said his coworker saw the explosion, saw the glass shatter, and witnessed a woman fall to the ground.

“Very loud. The building shook, we saw smoke fly up,” the man said. “A guy we took the elevator down with told us he saw the manhole cover fly up to the 12th floor. I think we were just scared. The second one was very loud.”

Firefighters were checking surrounding buildings for smoke and inspecting for elevated levels of carbon monoxide. 

Workers were forced to evacuate two office buildings due to dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide, leaving businesses shut  down. 

Eversource crews were still working late Thursday night to repair the manholes and investigate what happened. 

Boston Deputy Fire Chief Brian Tully blamed the age of equipment running power underground. “The equipment is just being overused, overtaxed. Once in a while something breaks. I believe the energy system in our city is safe and I wouldn’t worry about that,” Tully said.

A storefront window near one of the manholes was shattered in the blasts. Several streets were closed and police asked people to avoid the area.