The fire happened at the corner of Summit Street and North Munn Avenue around 8 a.m.
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A faulty underground cable caused the manhole fire under the middle car and from there it spread to a taxi cab parked behind it and another vehicle ahead.
The cab driver who lost his vehicle said he parked it there this morning, went to sleep, and woke up to it on fire.
The fire toasted the vehicles and caused the tires to explode, which startled residents.
One police officer was injured as traffic was leaving from the area. He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
"We had one officer who was directing traffic struck by a vehicle, minor injuries at this time, being treated at the local hospital," said Public Safety Director Maurice Boyd.
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Officials say it was not intentional, but happened as drivers were rushing to get off the block and away from the fire.
Officials in East Orange said there were temporary evacuations put in place, but those have since been lifted.
A school on North Munn rushed the kids out of the building and took them to the YMCA down the street. Those students will not return to the building Friday as their parents were called to pick them up.
At one point there were about 40 customers without power but it was restored by mid-afternoon.
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The charred cars were removed so workers with PSE&G could open the manhole cover and repair the line that sparked the fire.
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