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Portland firefighters were called to 420 Fore St. for an explosion that blew off a manhole cover at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Firefighters found some manhole covers dislodged and encountered smoke and the odor of an electrical fire in the area, the department said.

Fore Street was closed off between Exchange and Middle streets until an underground utility specialist with Central Maine Power Co. arrived.

CMP determined the fire was out, isolated the problem circuit and rerouted power, a department spokesman said.

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There were no injuries and firefighters left at 1:48 p.m.

CMP spokeswoman Gail Rice said one of the company’s underground cables failed and that sometimes there is a large flash when that happens.

She did not know whether there had been any accumulation of gases in the manhole which might  have contributed to the apparent explosion.

The city had received a lot of rain that day, but those types of cables are frequently under water, she said.


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