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Con-Ed Blows Off Some Steam

Early Friday morning June 28, 1996, the residents of the upper east side of Manhattan were awakened by an explosion at the Consolidated Edison steam generating plant at 505 East 75 Street. The 10 story brick building measuring 250 x 250 houses three 80 feet tall steam generators. Engine 44 (quartered 3 blocks away) arrived within 2 minutes and after a quick evaluation ordered the response of the Haz-Mat unit due to the incident taking place in an asbestos containment area.

As a precaution, all civilians within 1 square block were evacuated from their homes and workplaces. The initial fear was that there might have been asbestos escaping into the air. The NYC Department of Environmental Protection, along with our own Haz Mat unit, took air samples and specimens. A fruit stand on the corner of York Ave and E 75 St had all of their produce confiscated for consumer safety. A Con-Ed spokesperson stated that it was more cost-effective to reimburse the proprietor for the goods rather than to decontaminate it.

The fire fighting effort was hampered by the escaping steam. It took Con-Ed over an hour to safely shut down the plant. Also, the perceived threat of asbestos contamination mandated that all necessary precautions be taken. The incident was declared under control at 0900 hours, but operations continued well into the late afternoon.

The Manhattan dispatchers set up an apparatus staging area at the quarters of engine 35 at East 124 Street and 3rd Avenue. When relief units were needed, they were dispatched from this location. The outer boroughs supplied Manhattan with units to re-supply engine 35. This procedure allowed Manhattan to keep neighborhood fire protection at a safe level while still being able to respond to the demand for relief units at the fire.

By mid-afternoon the air samples and debris specimens had shown that no asbestos escaped from the building. To be on the safe side, 175 fire fighters and 12 Con- Ed workers were decontaminated using the showers from the Decontamination Unit quartered with ladder 15.

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0336 BOX TRANSMITTEDE044 E039 E022 L016 L013 BC10 RS01
0337 10-75E008 BC09
0340 S/CHM01
0341 S/CDC02
0347 2-2E053 E074 E021 E040 L002 L043 L035 BC08 ST01 E009 FC02 MR06 SB01 TS01 RA01
0359 PROGRESS REPORTFIRE IS ON THE 4TH FLOOR WITH POSSIBLE EXTENSION TO THE UPPER FLOORS. NO UNITS ARE BEING ALLOWED TO FIGHT THE FIRE AT THIS TIME DUE TO A HEAVY STEAM CONDITION.
0409 PROGRESS REPORT1 HAND LINE STRETCHED IN OPERATION RELEASING STEAM AS A PRECAUTION. UNITS ARE BEING KEPT AWAY TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION. CON-ED SUPERVISORS ARE ON THE SCENE.
0423 S/CRS03 BC11 BC12
0435 3-3E065 E091 E076 E058 L025 MW01 E207 ST04 E324 MK01
0454 PROGRESS REPORTFIRE IS IN A WOOD CASING FROM THE 4TH TO THE 7TH FLOOR. A 2ND LINE HAS BEEN STRETCHED, BUT NOT IN OPERATION AT THIS TIME.
0459 S/CE016 E001
0507 S/CSB02
0510 S/CBC04
0515 PROGRESS REPORTTHIS WILL BE AN EXTENDED OPERATION DUE TO A MAJOR STEAM LEAK. FIRE IS IN A SHAFTWAY FROM THE 4TH TO THE 7TH FLOOR IN THE BOILER AREA. OPERATIONS WILL BE DELAYED DUE TO RESIDUAL STEAM ON THE MAIN LEVEL. CON-ED HAS SHUT THE STEAM OFF FROM THE STREET.
0524 PROGRESS REPORTTHE STEAM HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN. WE HAVE FIRE ON FLOORS 2, 5, AND 6. UNABLE TO REACH THE FIRE ON THE 2ND FLOOR AT THIS TIME. SPECIAL CALL 2 TRUCKS, 2 CHIEFS, AND THE DECON TRAILER.
0524 S/CL021 L007 BC16 BC02 HD01 L015
0536 4-4E034 E054
0542 S/CBC07
0556 S/CE003 E036 L004
0601 S/CBC17
0630 5-5E037 E005 E261 E260 L026
0632 S/CL012 L014 L116
0649 S/CRS04 BC01
0657 S/CBC46
0659 PROGRESS REPORTHEAVY FIRE CONDITION IN A HORIZONTAL DUCT ON THE 8TH AND 9TH FLOORS. THERE IS DIFFICULTY FIGHTING THE FIRE DUE TO ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS AND THE LOCATION. SMALL POCKETS OF FIRE STILL EXIST AND COMPANIES ARE BEING RELIEVED.
0807 S/CE083 E082 L019 L151
0815 PROGRESS REPORTALL VISIBLE FIRE EXTINGUISHED. STILL TRYING TO HIT SMALL POCKETS. PROBABLY WILL HOLD.
0836 S/CBC37
0900 PROGRESS REPORT175 FIRE FIGHTERS AND 12 CON-ED WORKERS ARE BEING DECONTAMINATED. FIRE IS UNDER CONTROL.