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A man was taken to hospital with burns yesterday after a transformer exploded in Avondale, cutting power to 1500 homes and businesses.
Shops were forced to close early and medical centres had to hastily rearrange appointments and put medicines in chilly bins to preserve them.
There was chaos for commuters as lights went out and police were forced on to the roads to direct traffic.
The power was out for more than three hours at peak rush-hour time.
A spokeswoman for the powerline company Vector said the man and his girlfriend were walking past the transformer on the corner of Geddes Tce and St Jude St when it exploded about 3.15pm. The woman was treated for minor injuries.
St John northern communications centre team manager Tony Francis said the man suffered moderate burns to his legs and was taken to Middlemore Hospital for treatment.
Fire northern communications centre shift manager Steve Smith said four fire engines were needed to extinguish the fire, as well as two specialist hazardous materials units.
The force of the blast melted power lines in Wingate St.
About 10 litres of oil leaked into the drainage system, Mr Smith said.
The outage meant an Auckland Radiology Group centre had to close because there was no way to operate the x-ray machine.
"One lady was in the middle of having a mammogram when the power went off," a radiographer said. "I felt a bit sorry for her. We had to re-book everyone."
A medical centre in the area had to make an emergency dash to a nearby petrol station to get ice for a chilli bin to transport a vaccine that was being stored in a fridge.
A woman told the Herald the centre was unable to look up any patient details as they were all stored on computers.
Meanwhile, traffic was backed up on Rosebank Rd heading into Avondale from the Northwestern Motorway and also from the Great North Rd off-ramp as traffic lights weren't working.
Technicians took until 6.25pm to restore power following the explosion.
