Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Video: AutoZone Transformer Sparking
Reader John Berry sends in this great video he shot of the AutoZone transformer sparking. Here's what John says:
Before the AutoZone's transformers lit up, Pepco was already on the scene with smoke pouring out of manholes on 12th Street between H Street and Linden Pl (presumably from some underground electrical fire). The brownouts caused me to walk outside and see that. Just before walking back in, I happened to hear the popping and cracking of the AutoZone transformer and saw it ignite. A neighbor who was with me alerted the Pepco boys and they went into a mad rush, but decided to call in the fire department when they saw what was happening.
We were told this morning that power on our block would be out until this afternoon and that they'd be tearing the street up in front of our place on 12th to make the necessary repairs.
Sincerely,
John Berry
12th Street resident
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
I'm sure that this could never everhappen to the streetcar transformer that DDOT wants to place on Wylie Street. Right.
...says the man typing on his computer in an air-conditioned building.
hey ro, whether the guy has air conditioning or not, his point is still powerful and deserves discussion ...this is a great reason NOT to put an electrical transformer on a densely packed block of rowhouses occupied by men, women and children...if this happened immediately adjacent to a rowhouse, as the wylie substation location is planned currently, that block of houses might go up in flames, ruining at least a few houses before DCFD could get on the scene.
With that logic, let's remove all electrical connections in the city-- any or all of them may catch fire at any moment!
@soul searcher / and I hope the folks on wylie get a legitimate say on the issue. my point is you can't have electricity and all the things it powers like computers, lights, AC, streetcars, etc. without putting transformers nearby. there are transformers on densely packed blocks all around this city (including at the corner), and have been there for decades without incident. With that said, there are alternatives for locating the streetcar substation and hopefully a compromise with the residents on wylie can be reached. now i'm going to go grab some water ice and stuff it down my pants, it's too hot to be arguing.
Ro (and the anonymous snarker above your post):
I'm sorry, but I have lived in DC for 17 years and I have never seen a substation housed immediately adjacent to a rowhouse. Never. If you know where such a setup is located, let me know. I usually see them set apart from houses and certainly not in the middle of a block of attached rowhouses. Let me know if you know of an exception to this general observation.
I lived up the street from one on Wisconsin ave in the 1990s across from the Russian embassy. It was disguised as a house. Im pretty sure it's still there.
soul searcher:
While not strictly a transformer station, this rowhouse has a transformer, huge tunnel fans, and a nine story basement to the tracks below.
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2010/04/13/brooklyn_heights_townhouse_is_actually_a_decoy.php
Post a Comment