Boston transformer explodes, leaving 20,000 without power

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2114738/Boston-candlelight-20-000-power-transformer-explosion-plunges-city-darkness.html

I know this isn't from BBC, but after talking about electricity for the last chapter or so, I decided to post this. I had mentioned it in class and no one else had heard about it so i decided to post this up here for people to see. The 115,000 volt transformer exploded and left over 20,000 people without power.

I had no heard about this until now. It is remarkable how much we rely on power today, as almost everything runs off of it - even cordless devices like laptop, cellphone and our ipods need to be connected to a power sorce eventually to recharge. Remarkable, the explosion of the 115,000 volt transformer did not hurt anyone, only plunging many residents of Boston into darkness and producing toxic smoke. It is a relief that there were no immediate injuries and that the explosion was quickly contained (power was shut off as that is the best way to put out an electrical fire). Yet, this makes me wonder if one day we will invent a safe alteration energy other than electricity.

When an event like this occurs, it makes one reconsider the safety of current high voltage transformers in such close proximity to heavily populated areas. As we learned in class, it takes very little voltage running through a persons body to kill them, and in this news story it is truly amazing that no one was harmed with such a powerful electrical current sparking the fire. Ways in which cities should improve the safety of these transformers is to move them away from busy areas, maybe on the outskirts of the city. Also, they might consider running less voltage through the lines initially to lessen the chances of a catastrophe such as this. As stated in the article, it is not only dangerous, but a distrubance to the lives of citizens.