City firefighters are investigating a manhole fire that injured one firefighter, prompting road closures in downtown Baltimore

BALTIMORE – Fire officials are investigating a manhole fire on North Charles Street that led to road closures and sent one firefighter to the hospital with minor injuries Sunday morning.

At approximately 5 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to the 300 block of North Charles Street for a report of a manhole fire. According to the investigation, upon arrival, emergency services discovered several fires originating from manhole covers. The fire was contained by 8:30 a.m

Power was shut off in the area. Fire official John Marsh said in a news conference that the timeline for restoring power was unclear.

The outage affected three companies and approximately 2,100 paying customers.

Emergency responders from BGE, the Baltimore City Office of Emergency Management and the Baltimore City Department of Transportation are also on scene and are urging the public to avoid the area.

The department shared the 300 block of North Charles Street and the 300 block of St. Paul Street will be closed for an extended period.

The following streets are closed:

• North Charles Street from Lexington Street to Mulberry Street
• Saratoga Street from St Paul Street to Sharp Street