Transformer Blast Forces Evacuation

A power transformer exploded in front of a three-story apartment building in West Hollywood on Tuesday morning, knocking out water and power, shattering windows and fraying the nerves of many of the complex’s elderly, mostly Russian-immigrant residents.

The building’s residents were evacuated but no injuries were reported, authorities said.

Paulina Zeltserman, 72, a native of the former Soviet republic of Moldavia, said she was alone in bed when she was awakened by a deafening noise.

“I heard an explosion and I saw this light and I was scared so,” said Zeltserman. “Nothing like this ever happened in Moldavia.”

Jerry Levine, 83, was visiting a friend at the complex when he heard the explosion.

“It scared the hell out of me,” Levine said. “Everything shook. It sounded like a bomb or something.”

The explosion occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. at 838 N. West Knoll Drive when a Southern California Edison Co. power transformer beneath the front lawn of the 135-unit complex erupted, rocketing a 50-pound metal cover into the air, fire officials said.

“It was a good thing no one was walking near there when it blew,” said Los Angeles County Firefighter Bernie Patrick.

Edison spokesman Mark Olson said the blast came from an underground transformer that converts high voltage into usable electric current.

“Normally a circuit breaker should have kicked in if there was a problem,” he said.

He speculated that the problem may been caused by accumulated rainwater in the underground vault--an accumulation that led to a short circuit and pressure buildup.

The power should be restored to the building by this afternoon and residents will be able to return to the building, Olson said.

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More than 70 firefighters were at the scene, but fire damage was minimal.

“We knew the building was full of elderly people, so we rushed extra units here to check on them,” said Mark Tolbert of the county Fire Department.

Fire officials set up to administer emergency medical care but none was needed, Tolbert said.

Fearing a secondary explosion, fire officials evacuated the residents.

Half a block from the complex, clusters of evacuated residents, many of them many still in bathrobes and slippers, congregated in stunned silence on the street.

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A frail elderly woman with poor eyesight started heading back into the building when she was intercepted by a firefighter who guided her to a Russian translator.

She was evacuated without her medicine and eyeglasses and she wanted to get them, the translator said.

At least 62 residents were transported by MTA bus to the West Hollywood Park auditorium while building inspectors surveyed the complex for structural damage.

The Los Angeles County Housing Authority secured 60 rooms at a nearby Ramada Inn for displaced residents.

Others chose to stay with family and friends.

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Times staff writer Eric Rimbert contributed to this report.