local news updates
updated
Thursday, 4:30 PM
Thursday, 4:30 PM
From the City & Region staff at The Boston Globe
Manhole explosions force evacuation of businesses in Medford
By Emily A. Canal, Globe Correspondent
Two businesses were evacuated this afternoon in Medford after two manholes began belching smoke on Riverside Avenue.
The Medford Fire Department responded at about 12:15 p.m. and removed the manhole covers to prevent an explosion.
"There was an underground cable failure in progress, which can sometimes cause smoke," said Deborah Drew, a spokeswoman for National Grid, an electric and natural gas utility.
No one was hurt, but fire officials evacuated a CVS drugstore and a bank as a precaution. The cable failure briefly cut off electricity to about 360 National Grid customers.
