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Fire officials say flames broke out at around 8 a.m. in a transformer at a Con Ed substation on Northern Boulevard in Douglaston. The fire blazed for nearly three hours.

No injuries were reported.

The substation contains transformers that feed lower voltage electricity to customers in Douglaston and Bayside.

The utility had shut off power to the surrounding area so that foam and powder could be used to fight the electrical fire. At one point, 800 customers were without power. As of noon, power was restored to all customers.

During the height of the fire, the flames reached 20 feet in the air and smoke plumes could be seen for miles. Fire officials say the oil in the burning transformer is what made the fire so fierce.

"Inside this transformer we had approximately 3,600 gallons of flammable oil that is used to cool down the transformer that ignited," explained Assistant Fire Chief James Esposito.

Local residents said they heard an explosion shortly before they saw the smoke.

"I heard the sound; that's about it," said one local resident. "And then I came out and wanted to see what was going on. And then we kept hearing all the ambulances and fire trucks and everything else."

City Councilman Tony Avella, who represents the district, said he has been assured by officials that there should be no concerns about air quality.

"The hazmat team is here," he said. "There are no harmful chemicals being emitted in the air. Nobody has to have a concern about that. That was the first thing that was done."

"Smoke and oil from the transformer fire were deemed not hazardous because there were no PCBs in this oil," said the assistant fire chief.

FDNY officials said Friday they would continue to investigate the cause of the fire.