Monday’s underground electrical explosion in Savannah’s historic district has city officials "very concerned". It’s the second such blast in four months.
Earlier this year, the area surrounding Savannah’s City Hall and historic district was shut down when an underground electrical fire cut-off power to much of downtown and sent smoke up through the street.
Yesterday’s explosion was in the same general area, blowing-off manhole covers, sparking a handful of small fires and again knocking-out power to the area.
Savannah officials want answers as soon as possible--if for no other reason than to give tourists peace-of-mind.
City spokesman Brett Bell says face-to-face meetings have already begun.
"We spent much of last night with them, we’re meeting with them today, we plan a full sit-down with them next week so they can explain to us what exactly happened and what they’re doing to prevent this from happening again."
Bell says the response by Georgia Power this time was much better than that of the incident in August.
He says that was a result of meetings they had with company officials four months ago.
Georgia Power officials say it’s too early to tell how similar this blast is to the August incident.
Company spokesman Jeff Wilson has this to say over tourist concerns walking the streets of Savannah’s historic downtown.
"Safety is obviously the #1 priority for the public and our employees. Whatever the cause of this second explosion was, we will determine what that cause is and make any and every necessary correction so it doesn’t happen again."
Wilson says it may be a few weeks before a cause to Monday’s explosion can be pinpointed.
Earlier this year, the area surrounding Savannah’s City Hall and historic district was shut down when an underground electrical fire cut-off power to much of downtown and sent smoke up through the street.
Yesterday’s explosion was in the same general area, blowing-off manhole covers, sparking a handful of small fires and again knocking-out power to the area.
Savannah officials want answers as soon as possible--if for no other reason than to give tourists peace-of-mind.
City spokesman Brett Bell says face-to-face meetings have already begun.
"We spent much of last night with them, we’re meeting with them today, we plan a full sit-down with them next week so they can explain to us what exactly happened and what they’re doing to prevent this from happening again."
Bell says the response by Georgia Power this time was much better than that of the incident in August.
He says that was a result of meetings they had with company officials four months ago.
Georgia Power officials say it’s too early to tell how similar this blast is to the August incident.
Company spokesman Jeff Wilson has this to say over tourist concerns walking the streets of Savannah’s historic downtown.
"Safety is obviously the #1 priority for the public and our employees. Whatever the cause of this second explosion was, we will determine what that cause is and make any and every necessary correction so it doesn’t happen again."
Wilson says it may be a few weeks before a cause to Monday’s explosion can be pinpointed.
