CONSOLIDATED EDISON CO OF NEW YORK

Incident Narrative

AT 12:47 ON AUGUST 12, 2020, NEW YORK CITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (NYCEM) CALLED CON EDISON'S GAS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTER (GERC) AND REPORTED A FIRE INSIDE A WAREHOUSE LOCATED AT 551 EAST 179TH STREET IN THE BRONX. THE GERC IMMEDIATELY DISPATCHED CON EDISON GAS DISTRIBUTION SERVICES (GDS) AND GAS EMERGENCY RESPONSE GROUP (ERG) PERSONNEL TO THE LOCATION. THE GERC ALSO NOTIFIED CON EDISON'S ELECTRIC OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT. THE BUILDING IS SUPPLIED BY A 2-INCH LOW-PRESSURE POLYETHYLENE GAS SERVICE (INSTALLED IN 1998) AND AN UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC SERVICE. CON EDISON GDS ARRIVED AT 13:00, BEGAN TO INVESTIGATE AND REPORTED THAT NO GAS ODORS OR READINGS WERE DETECTED. AT 15:30, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK (FDNY) BOROUGH COMMANDER CHIEF BOYLE REPORTED THAT A SECONDARY NATURAL GAS IGNITION HAD OCCURRED AND WAS ONGOING AT THE INDOOR METER SET. ADDITIONAL CON EDISON GDS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE FORCE (ERF)/CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL WERE DISPATCHED TO THE LOCATION BY THE GERC. AT 15:37, GDS CLOSED THE CURB VALVE ON THE GAS SERVICE SUPPLYING THE WAREHOUSE, THEREBY EXTINGUISHING THE SECONDARY IGNITION AT THE GAS METER SET. AT 17:03, GDS REPORTED THAT THE FDNY EXTINGUISHED THE STRUCTURAL FIRE. FDNY BOROUGH COMMANDER CHIEF BOYLE REPORTED THAT THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE FIRE WAS UNKNOWN. A SPECIAL GAS LEAK SURVEY WAS PERFORMED BY CON EDISON AND NO GAS ODORS OR READINGS WERE DETECTED. PRESSURE AND ODORANT READINGS WERE CHECKED AT 4290 3RD AVE AND WERE WITHIN THE ACCEPTABLE RANGES (8.0 INCHES W.C. AND 0.28 % GAS-IN-AIR, RESPECTIVELY). A CON EDISON ERF/CONSTRUCTION CREW CUT AND CAPPED THE GAS SERVICE AT THE MAIN. THERE WERE NO REPORTED INJURIES. MULTIPLE MEDIA OUTLETS WERE ON LOCATION. THE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED TO BE MORE THAN $50,000. NYSDPS, USDOT, AND NYCDEP WERE NOTIFIED.