CONSOLIDATED EDISON CO OF NEW YORK

Incident Narrative

ON WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2013 AT 08:03 THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF NEW YORK (FDNY) REPORTED TO THE GAS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTER (GERC) AN EXPLOSION AND BUILDING COLLAPSE WITH INJURIES AND GAS ODOR AT 2601 WESTCHESTER AVENUE. A CODE MURRE (MULTIPLE RESOURCE RESPONSE EVENT) WAS INITIATED AND GAS DISTRIBUTION SERVICES (GDS), NUMEROUS SUPERVISORS, CONSTRUCTION, PHOTOGRAPHER, CHEM LAB, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND ELECTRIC #9 WERE DISPATCHED. AT 08:16 A CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISOR ARRIVED ON LOCATION, AND CONFIRMED THE COLLAPSE WITH SIGNIFICANT FDNY, NYPD, & EMS RESPONSE. THE FDNY WAS IN THE COLLAPSED BUILDING ATTEMPTING TO SECURE AN OPEN-ENDED GAS PIPE. GERC SUPPLIED THE CURB VALVE LOCATION FOR 1300 BLONDELL AVE, AS 2601 WESTCHESTER AVE HAD NO DIRECT GAS SERVICE. THE GAS SUPPLY PIPE TO A CEILING MOUNTED SPACE HEATER HAD BEEN DAMAGED BY FALLING DEBRIS RESULTING IN GAS FREELY BLOWING INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. AT 08:22 THE FDNY TEMPORARILY SECURED THE OPEN-ENDED HOUSE PIPE WITH TAPE. AT 08:24 THE CURB VALVE WAS CLOSED SECURING THE LEAK. AT 08:27 GDS VERIFIED A 100% SHUTDOWN FROM THE 1.25"" LOW PRESSURE POLYETHYLENE CURB VALVE. AT 08:46 THE ELECTRIC SERVICE WAS DE-ENERGIZED TO THE BUILDING. CHANNEL 12 NEWS REPORTED THAT A ONE STORY AUTO BODY SHOP COLLAPSED DUE TO AN AIR COMPRESSOR EXPLOSION INSIDE THE BUILDING; ADDITIONAL REPORTS ON-SITE AND IN THE MEDIA STATED A GARAGE COMPRESSOR EXPLODED CAUSING THE BUILDING TO COLLAPSE. NO FIRE CONDITION WAS DETECTED PER FDNY CHIEF SAKOVICH. TWO OCCUPANTS, A FATHER AND SON (BENEDETTO MONDELLO - DOB-7/16/1950, BENJAMIN MONDELLO - DOB- 3/8/1978) WERE TAKEN BY EMS TO JACOBI HOSPITAL DUE TO INJURIES SUSTAINED IN THE EXPLOSION. FDNY CHIEF SEELIG INITIALLY REPORTED THE CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION WAS UNDER INVESTIGATION. INITIAL LEAK INVESTIGATIONS DETECTED NO GAS ODOR OR READINGS IN THE BUILDINGS ACCESSED AS WELL AS IN SUBSURFACE STRUCTURES. A POGO SURVEY OF THE IMMEDIATE AREA BY GDS DETECTED NO OUTSIDE READINGS. LEAK SURVEY RESPONDED AND PERFORMED SEVERAL LEAK SURVEYS OF THE AREA SURROUNDING THE INCIDENT. THE INITIAL SURVEY AT 09:10 DETECTED NO READINGS BUT A SECOND SURVEY AT 09:50 DETECTED 4.4% AT THE OUTSIDE FOUNDATION WALL OF 1314 COOPER AVE. THE FDNY PROVIDED ACCESS AND 2% WAS DETECTED IN THE ELECTRIC POINT OF ENTRY AT THE INSIDE FOUNDATION WALL. 1320 COOPER AVE WAS CHECKED AND FOUND CLEAR, AND SB 24280 SUPPLYING #1314 WAS CHECKED AND 60% READING WAS RECEIVED. THE COVER WAS PULLED TO VENT THE STRUCTURE. SB 22786 WAS CHECKED AND 58% WAS DETECTED AND THE COVER PULLED TO VENT THE STRUCTURE; ADJACENT MANHOLES M10930 AND M23142 WERE FOUND CLEAR. A BAR HOLE SURVEY DETECTED 40%-90% GAS READINGS OVER THE 6"" LPCI 1952 MAIN ON COOPER AVE. THE 6"" MAIN WAS EXCAVATED AND CUT ON THE 6"" SIDE OF THE 12"" X 12"" X 6"" 3-WAY TEE ON WESTCHESTER AND COOPER AVES. AN INTEGRITY TEST OF THE HOUSE PIPING FROM THE 1/2"" OPEN-ENDED PIPE BACK TO THE HOS VALVE WAS PERFORMED AT 6"" W.C AND PASSED AFTER A 10 MINUTE TEST WHICH WAS WITNESSED BY THE PSC. LEAK SURVEILLANCE OF THE AREA DETECTED NO GAS READINGS AFTER THE MAIN WAS CUT AND CAPPED. ON MONDAY, DEC. 2 A CAMERA INSPECTION WITNESSED BY THE PSC OF THE ISOLATED SECTION OF MAIN IDENTIFIED A CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACK WHICH WAS EXCAVATED, CONFIRMED AND REMOVED FOR ANALYSIS. CHEMICAL SAMPLING OF THE SOIL WITHIN THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF THE BUILDING COLLAPSE IDENTIFIED CHEMICALS INCLUDING ACETONE AND FUELS AT LEVELS THAT MET OR EXCEEDED NYC DEP AND/OR NYS DEC REPORTING THRESHOLDS AND NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO THOSE AGENCIES. CHANNEL 2, 4 AND 12 NEWS MEDIA WERE ON LOCATION. CIG, PSC, DOT AND DEP WERE NOTIFIED. THERE WAS GREATER THAN $50,000 IN DAMAGE AND THE TWO INJURED OCCUPANTS REPORTEDLY SUSTAINED NON-LIFE THREATENING INJURIES. THE PSC AND OSHA RESPONDED TO THE LOCATION. THE FDNY FIRE MARSHALS ISSUED A REPORT CONCLUDING THAT THE INCIDENT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO NATURAL GAS.