Subway fire at Baltimore Chars bookstore disrupts traffic, internet and power

On Sunday, an underground fire closed roads in downtown Baltimore and left thousands of city residents without power and internet.

300 block of North Charles Street and St. Paul Street and several nearby blocks remained closed Sunday afternoon, causing heavy traffic as tens of thousands of people prepared to go to M&T Bank Stadium to watch the Ravens game against the Buffalo Bills.

In a news release, the mayor’s Office of Emergency Management said flames were coming from one manhole cover and smoke was rising from several others. According to the release, the manholes may have exploded. A Baltimore City Police spokesman said one firefighter suffered injuries and was taken for treatment.

The cause of the fire was unknown on Sunday. The interior of Viva Books at Brown’s Arcade in the 300 block of N. Charles St. it was dilapidated, with destroyed bookshelves and furniture and a large, charred hole in the wooden floor. The store owner could not immediately be reached for comment.

Authorities cut power to the area to allow firefighters to deal with the blaze, forcing the University of Maryland Medical Campus in Midtown to use a generator, according to a press release.

The Baltimore City Fire Department and crews from Baltimore Gas and Electric “continue to work safely to restore power to the affected area,” the statement said. “The threat to the public has now been mitigated.”

BGE’s outage map shows that approximately 3,300 customers in the area were without power as of 6 p.m.

The fire affected fiber optic cables that provide local and statewide internet service, the Enoch Pratt Free Library said on social media. The library announced it would be closed on Monday.

The outage also caused the library system to cancel a Monday meeting with Tui T. Sutherland, author of the popular children’s series “Wings of Fire.”

Traffic lights were also disabled in the Mount Vernon and Midtown areas, including between Baltimore Street and Madison Street at Charles Street and other major thoroughfares.

BGE and Xfinity crews worked under the streets Sunday afternoon.

Baltimore Banner reporters Christina Tkacik and Meredith Cohn contributed to this report.