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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.
66 - 55- 1046
| 0336 BOX TRANSMITTED | E044 E039 E022 L016 L013 BC10 RS01 |
| 0337 10-75 | E008 BC09 |
| 0340 S/C | HM01 |
| 0341 S/C | DC02 |
| 0347 2-2 | E053 E074 E021 E040 L002 L043 L035 BC08 ST01 E009 FC02 MR06 SB01 TS01 RA01 |
| 0359 PROGRESS REPORT | FIRE 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 REPORT | 1 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/C | RS03 BC11 BC12 |
| 0435 3-3 | E065 E091 E076 E058 L025 MW01 E207 ST04 E324 MK01 |
| 0454 PROGRESS REPORT | FIRE 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/C | E016 E001 |
| 0507 S/C | SB02 |
| 0510 S/C | BC04 |
| 0515 PROGRESS REPORT | THIS 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 REPORT | THE 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/C | L021 L007 BC16 BC02 HD01 L015 |
| 0536 4-4 | E034 E054 |
| 0542 S/C | BC07 |
| 0556 S/C | E003 E036 L004 |
| 0601 S/C | BC17 |
| 0630 5-5 | E037 E005 E261 E260 L026 |
| 0632 S/C | L012 L014 L116 |
| 0649 S/C | RS04 BC01 |
| 0657 S/C | BC46 |
| 0659 PROGRESS REPORT | HEAVY 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/C | E083 E082 L019 L151 |
| 0815 PROGRESS REPORT | ALL VISIBLE FIRE EXTINGUISHED. STILL TRYING TO HIT SMALL POCKETS. PROBABLY WILL HOLD. |
| 0836 S/C | BC37 |
| 0900 PROGRESS REPORT | 175 FIRE FIGHTERS AND 12 CON-ED WORKERS ARE BEING DECONTAMINATED. FIRE IS UNDER CONTROL. |
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