July 18, 2007
Manhattan Explosion in Vicinity of Grand Central
-NYPD, Mayor's Office: It's Steam, Not Terrorist Attack
-One Fatality, At Least 15 Injured
More updates below, but here's a summary so far (8:20PM): A steam explosion occurred on East 41st and Lexington Avenue (41st between Lex and Third) just before 6PM - right during the evening rush hour. The NYPD does not think it was a terrorist attack. It appears that there is a hole about 25' in diameter with a red tow truck in the center. One person has died (possibly from cardiac arrest) and there are at least 15 people injured. It is a six-alarm situation for the FDNY, which includes 24 engines and 13 ladders.
Mayor Bloomberg just called it a "failure of our infrastructure." There are 4/5/6 train service disruptions in Manhattan (no 6 between 59th and Brooklyn Bridge; no 4 between 86th and Brooklyn Bridge; no 5 - it's running on the 2); the S is suspended; the 7 is bypassing Grand Central in both directions (update from MTA). Metro-North is operating (use north entrance at Grand Central).
Our commenters have many insights, too.
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BREAKING 6:03PM: There are reports of an explosion near Grand Central Terminal. Apparently manhole may have exploded around East 48th and Third Avenue, with many people injured. Officer workers in the area tell us they were told to stay in their offices. Train traffic into Grand Central may be impacted as well.
1010WINS says on their website: "A large transformer has exploded at 41st Street between Third and Lexington avenues, according to the FDNY."
Traffic is being shut down in the vicinity and buildings are being evacuated.
Update 6:20PM: Some reports say that a steam pipe exploded on East 41st. The area between East 41st and 47th is being cleared. Metro-North service is running normal, but the 4/5/6 service may be diverted.
It's a 4th alarm fire situation, with two injuries (one may be a young man with burns).
A reader at Lexington and East 46th tells us that people are either walking uptown very quickly or standing around to take cameraphone pictures.
Update 6:32PM: The NYPD does not believe it was a terrorist attack. The AP reports, "A large column of gray smoke poured from the vicinity of a building near Grand Central Terminal and the Chrysler Building, and the air near the site was filled with ash."
Reader Sean writes us:
I happen to live 3 blocks south of the explosion & it's right out my window. The scene is calm now that police have arrived. But my whole building is vibrating from the rumble of the high-pressure venting. There is steam spewing out of the ground at very high velocity (almost volcano-like); it has torn a 2 lane wide hole in Lex just north of 41st.The fire is now at 5 alarms.
Update 6:51PM: Whoa - footage on the local news is crazy - steam is still erupting. A WABC 7 reporter says chunks of asphalt were spewing from the explosion. Another WABC reporter spoke to a person who lives on the 27th floor in a nearby building and saw rocks and debris flying up by his window!
Update 7:01PM: There are at least two people injured (possibly critically). While there are FDNY and NYPD units on the scene, the concern is now that there is asbestos contamination.
Update 7:07PM: Reader Nick sent us this video of the explosion. All we can say is whoa.
Update 7:14PM: WNBC 4 is reporting that Con Ed did turn off the steam to that pipe (there was an earlier report about not being able to turn off steam completely, or else there would be an explosion - not sure if that's still the case), but it'll take some time for the steam to stop escaping.
Reader dadoc explained that there was a similar steam explosion in 1989 at the corner East 20th & Third Avenue on a Saturday (three people were killed in that incident).
NYC Transit Authority spokesman Paul Fleuranges tells WNBC that there's no 4/5/6 service between Brooklyn Bridge and East 86th.
Update 7:42PM: The steam will be turned off slowly. MTA (and our readers) reports 4/5/6 service is suspended in both directions between 125th and Bowling Green. The local news stations keep bringing up how it's very much like September 11 when talking to witnesses.
And reader dadoc also points out a good graphic about the city's steam system from a 2005 Gothamist post. We're going to upload some info about the "water hammer" effect (here's a Wiki definition) in a few minutes.
Update 7:54PM: Now it's a 6 alarm situation. WNBC reports that one person taken to Bellevue has died. And Chopper 4 is showing a red tow truck in the hole, which is about 25 feet by 25 feet.
Update 8:07PM: Mayor Bloomberg is on his way to the scene. The Office of Emergency Management official speaking to WNBC pleads that the public should not come to the Grand Central area.
8:21PM: Mayor Bloomberg is speaking. A 24" steam pipe broke; the pipe was installed 1924. Cause seems to be cold water getting into the pipe. There are so many alarms and sirens going off, the press conference has temporarily halted. It's unclear where the cold water is from - this morning's rain or a water main break. No power outages (thanks to redundancies that cover the area), some Verizon outages. Too early to tell how long it'll take it fix, but the Mayor hopes it'll be relatively back to normal tomorrow. The big concern is that there may have been asbestos released in the air; they'll know in an hour, but one somewhat positive thing is that there was so much water, hopefully the water the trapped it.
Frozen zone is between 40th to 43rd Street, Vanderbilt and Third Avenues.
Emphasis on being cautious and not rushing out to the street. Would like public not to come to the area.
NYPD: Many street closures - traveling crosstown will is closed on many streets between 34th and 54/59th.
DEP: Erring on side of caution; air monitoring and sampling. Gives props to Con Ed for cleaning out their steam units. Hopes to have test results in hour or so.
Department of Health: Close windows. If there's AC, turn it on to recirculate the air. If people were exposed to debris, wash with soap and water. Put your clothes in a plastic bag. No way to test asbestos exposure yet, but be careful.
Back to Mayor, who says that he's proud of how New Yorkers reacted - from emergency responders to regular people on the street:
We couldn’t be prouder of our New Yorkers. The people that should respond knew exactly what to do and how to cooperate and work together, and the person in the street understood that we’re all here together and they knew not to panic. They rushed around, helped each other. It's what you would expect, it’s inspirational to all of us.He suggests mass transit, versus driving into the area, in the morning.
Update: Watching NY1's The Call, and one person pointed out there's a strong steam smell on the west side of Lexington Avenue near Grand Central and asks "Couldn't this have been anticipated?"
Reader Bill writes about his familiarity about the steam corner:
Con Ed had been working on that 41/lex corner for a while and much of the NE corner was covered by those gigantic steel plates (which were really hotyou could feel the heat radiating up through your shoes). Steam is always coming out of the ground there (and has been vented in the recent past through those orange chimney-like things). Also, a couple of weeks ago, I was heading into the office one morning and crossed that street in the heaviest steam cloud Ive ever seen on an nyc street. When I got into the middle of it, it was a total whiteout condition and I was worried that I was going to walk into someone coming in the opposite direction.
Photograph at top of the steam on East 41st between Third and Lexington Avenues by Joseph Marty/AP; video by Nick Parish; middle photograph of tow truck in hole by WNBC; photograph at bottom by ~Raymond on Flickr
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From someone in the area a phone source, I heard it was sort of chaotic in the area, people running and told to leave the area.
Since then it has calmed down I have been told.
CBS is reporting it is a transformer explosion. They are reporting no injuries, but NY1 is reporting 1. Subway train service continues but is bypassing Grand Central. Not sure about Metro North.
MSNBC's Breaking News Caption says a building may have collapsed.
A perfect denouement to a crappy day...
This is like Choose Your Own News -- do we have any REAL IDEA of what's actually happened?
If it were terrorists we'd have investigations, remediation and new programs for the next five years...but since it's a private company, well, hey, they try.
southbound subway service from 125th has been suspended according to my girlfriend, who just arrived there via metro north.
FDNY now says it is a five alarm fire. NYPD says steam pipe or manhole explosion. Investigation in process.
FDNY reporting no injuries.
There is no S train service.
Now MSNBC says officials confirm they suspect a manhole explosion near Grand Central with nearby buildings evacuated.
From NY1.com:
"Officials say the attack is not terrorist related."
Shouldn't they be calling this an "event" or an "explosion?"
ZOMG teh turrists!!!
I was on 42nd and Park around 5:50pm waiting for a cab when a ton of people started running west on 42nd. I started running as well, of course. All I heard was a low rumbling sound and then when I looked back, it looked like smoke coming out of the building where Altria and the Whitney Gallery are located. Saw some people with clay colored soot on their clothes. Was able to walk up to 6th ave and catch the F downtown.
Good point, Mike D. My heart was pounding like a maniac when I first heard there was an explosion...but give it to the media to still spin it as an "attack." That manhole must have been planning this for months!
What a day, I think the people who hightailed it home in the morning got the right idea.
in other news, ConEd wants a rate increase, probably to fix this steam accident.
Here is a picture from AP and Yahoo!
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070718/480/5f6ea6ca053c4188b576fa4cbc4caab5;_ylt=Ao3kv2Tv3AcLhkJBQfcdhChH2ocA
Click this for the latest Gothamist updated post.
Everyone, get home safe.
It's a ConEd Summer Event! Enjoy!
So, fellow New Yorkers, what's the biggest threat, alleged enemies of the West living in dirt hovels thousands of miles away, or the corrupt, inept, criminally negligent public officials and corporate directors of our nation, laughing all the way to the bank?
does anyone know if this is affecting Metro - North service?
I know it's terrible, but whenever the news reports that a "transformer exploded", I think of the robots from the movie...
Not affecting Metro north/grand central.
as long as you can get to Grand Central you're OK.
Vanderbilt entrance Open.
They said Metro-North is actually running normally, if you can get into GCT.
this is sure going to be one messy commute home.
Watching ABC news now. Newscasters say a major transformer explosion at 41st between 3rd and Lex. They're showing a massive hole shooting huge amounts of steam upwards (with accompanying vibrating sounds). (You could even hear the vibrating sounds on the TV). A reporter said that he could smell sulfur (huh?). At least two injuries reported. News reporters are hyper-ventilating.
New York City - the epicenter of the media universe (sarcasm).
High-pressure superheated steam. Comes as a byproduct of electrical generation @ powerplants,
Piped to large buildings (Met Life, Emp State, etc for heating/cooling).
Same thing happened 1990?/1991 @ corner East 20th street & 3rd Avenue on a Saturday. 3 killed @ that incident.
Valves are located along the line, have to be closed slowly to avoid backpressure. You're not talking your cappucino steam. Over a thousand degrees (F) @ a coupla hundred PSI. Some cold water gets on one of those pipes and bango!
Bad part is that the steam stream aerosolizes the asbestos insulation and sprays it all over. Just check out the 20th & 3rd incident. Building shut down for decontamination for weeks!
If you need to get into G.C. Madison and 47th street entrance is open. Metro North trains are running.
Correction to self: regarding Old Gramercy incident.
Twas 1989 (old stories on the NYT)
thanks [#24-dadoc] - you seem to know more than any of those talking-head dipsy news reporters.
ConEd fucks up yet again.
That video looks pretty bad. Hope no one got seriously injured.
no 4,5,6 service in both directions between the 125th Street Station and the Bowling Green Station.
Thanks, everyone, for your tips and observations - keep them coming, please!
Dadoc is right about the Gramercy Park incident in 1989. Just like that incident, this incident was probably caused by water hammer. I suspect it has something to do with the rain/flooding we had earlier today and a slug of water was created at a low point due to condensing steam.
Steam pressures probably somewhere between 125 to 300psi with a temperature of 350 degF to 417 degF (don't forget your saturated steam tables).
As a warning, the main concern would be the possibility of an asbestos release. Asbestos was used in the past to insulate pipes. An explosion would probably cause some release. I wouldn't be there to breathe that in right now.... although I think they're trying to minimize that by spraying water in the area.
The Bad: If the steam can indeed reach 1000 degrees, you just pray there were no cars/pedestrians above it.
The Flip: Thanks to #19, I can't the visual of Optimus Prime going Peter Petrelli on NYC. sorry...
Whoa, indeed.
Great job with the updates, guys.
Apparently, the east side is a mess down to the Village, tons of people on the street since there is no subway. Everybody stay cool and be careful, get home safe.
And Gothamist had a piece on the steam system:
http://gothamist.com/2005/11/28/superhot_steam.php
I remember it 'cuz in was a Dobkin post without one mention of vandalsism. Excuse me, street art,
Just kiddin' guys, stay on topic
Traffic tomorrow is going to be a nightmare.
NEWSFLASH: if you're one of the dingbats still hanging around the area to take pictures or videos with your cellphone, please LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.
Why? The air is laden with asbestos and other toxic particles, dumb@ss.
#35, awesome find.
#33, the news video shows at least one truck on top of the hole.
Fox News currently desperate for some fatalities.
"There's a car down there. What do you think the chances are of the driver surviving this?"
Ugh.
The picture is so reminiscent of 9/11. It has to remind the firefighters now on the scene of that day. The midtown fire station lost many of their firefighters on that day. :(
NYC firefighters are my heros! Thanks, guys!
Thank you conEveryone. You certainly provide this city with exemplary service.
", tons of people on the street since there is no subway. Everybody stay cool and be careful, get home safe.
[34] Posted by: Tim N. | :
take the west side lines.
2,3,A,E,C, D.
although there are delays on the queens bound e train from the flooding earlier.
MetroNorth users can take a bus or cab uptown or a west side train and travel east to the harlem station to try to get their train at 125.
Check MetroNorth's website for updates.
Fox anchor said "The force is so angry."
and why is this still on all the channels?
word of the day...WATER HAMMER
There's a red tow truck in the hole.
WNBC reports 1 fatality
OEM is testing the air, first reports are no postive asbestos readings (at least not now).
Mayor Bloomberg to do press conference shortly.
17 injuries now reported.
OMG, they found a tow truck in the hole. God, I hope that person got out alive...
Up-to-date reporting in crisis situations is what Gothamist is good at (certainly much better than NY1).
ConEd charges among the highest (if not the highest) rates in the nation. And now they want a rate increase! Where is the money going? Just recently I was speaking to a ConEd customer rep on the phone about my exorbitant electric bill and I asked him the same question. His answer: overhead. Huh??? He then went on to say, "But have you seen the price of milk lately? It's more than gasoline!" Groan.
Before you post the "Water Hammer" stuff (which really only relates to household low-temp low-pressure systems, I'd hold off. Really hard (if not impossible) to get liquid condensate in the Con Ed high-pressure system. The temps and pressures are just wayyyyy to high for condensate. In the 1989 incident the line was being worked on at the site of the rupture. I think they attributed it to either inadvertant spilling of cold liquid or a dropped tool,.Two ConEd guys killed and someone (I forget if it was the doorman) fried trying to escape in a lobby about 25 feet away. If the line was not exposed and being worked on, I would figure either just a blow-out or cold liquid exposure. Experiment for the adventurous (or bored, stoned or all of the above). Just try flicking a drop of cold PBR on that exposed 60 Watt bulb in your Dumbo illegal loft (Eye protection, please!!). What happens? localized contraction of a hot solid causing violation of continuity. POP!
So one dead from injuries from the blast.
Does anyone still believe the EPA when they say "The air is safe"???
Not I!
It's the terrorism of crumbling infrastructure.
I say we should declare a war on it.
Should anyone believe Con Ed if they say the air is safe? Take a look at this!<