Live wire stops Lynbrook traffic

A 7000-volt power line shorted and fell across Merrick Road on Oct. 12, closing the busy roadway for hours.

The live power line set the asphalt roadway afire and briefly caused an outage in many parts of the village, including Village Hall.  

The Lynbrook Fire Department, under the command of Second Deputy Chief Anthony DeCarlo responded to the fire call at the intersection of Merrick Road and John Street at about 9:20 a.m. with Vulcan Company, Hose Company, and the Extrication Team. Upon arrival on the scene the firefighters could only stand by and wait until LIPA arrived to shut off the power before they could move in and extinguish the burning asphalt.  Lynbrook police controlled traffic at the intersection. 

While firefighters were at the fire scene, the department’s Emergency Medical Company responded to the Verizon Building on Washington Street where an employee received a shock while working at her desk. The downed power line was blamed for the shock. The Medical Company transported the worker to South Nassau Communities Hospital in stable condition. 

Once the power was turned off, firefighters moved in first with a dry powder extinguisher then a hose line to put out the fire. Firefighters were at the scene for about an hour and a half. Because the road is a Nassau County road, County Public Works employees responded to the scene after the fire was extinguished.

They roadway was re-opened about two hours later.