CONSOLIDATED EDISON CO OF NEW YORK

Incident Narrative

ON DECEMBER 25, 2016, AT 22:41, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK (FDNY) REPORTED A BUILDING FIRE WITH AN OUTDOOR GAS ODOR AT 126 WEST 53RD STREET IN MANHATTAN TO CON EDISON'S GAS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CENTER (GERC). CON EDISON GAS DISTRIBUTION SERVICES (GDS) AND SUPERVISION WERE DISPATCHED AND ARRIVED AT 23:03. AT 23:10, GDS REPORTED THAT THERE WAS AN ACTIVE FIRE IN THE BASEMENT OF A NEW YORK CITY (NYC) TRANSIT SUBSTATION AS PER NYC EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (NYC EM). THE GERC THEN NOTIFIED CON EDISON'S ELECTRIC OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT, WHICH DISPATCHED A CREW TO THE LOCATION TO ASSIST. ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL FROM CON EDISON'S GAS CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT WERE ALSO DISPATCHED BY THE GERC. GDS INVESTIGATED OUTSIDE AND, AT 23:29, REPORTED DETECTING 50% GAS-IN-AIR INSIDE ELECTRIC MANHOLE M10262. ACCORDING TO THE FDNY, THERE MAY HAVE BEEN AN ELECTRICAL OR GAS EXPLOSION IN MANHOLE M10262 PRIOR TO GDS' ARRIVAL. GDS THEN OPENED AND VENTED MANHOLE M10262. AT 00:05, CON EDISON GDS SUPERVISION REPORTED A BLOWING GAS CONDITION INSIDE THE BASEMENT OF THE SUBSTATION AT AN ELECTRICAL CONDUIT, WHERE A FLAME WAS VISIBLE. A MULTIPLE RESOURCE RESPONSE EVENT (CODE MURRE) WAS THEN INITIATED BY THE GERC. ON DECEMBER 26, 2016, AT 00:42, CON EDISON GDS SUPERVISION REPORTED DETECTING 40% GAS-IN-AIR INSIDE A SECOND ELECTRIC MANHOLE (M10278), WHICH WAS THEN OPENED AND VENTED. AT 01:48, CON EDISON GDS SUPERVISION REPORTED THAT THE FDNY WAS STANDING BY THE SMALL FLAME THAT WAS VISIBLE AT THE ELECTRICAL CONDUIT IN THE SUBSTATION BASEMENT. CON EDISON GAS CONSTRUCTION CREWS DETECTED GAS READINGS RANGING FROM 80% TO 100% OVER AN 8-INCH LOW PRESSURE STEEL GAS MAIN (INSTALLED IN 1930) LOCATED ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF WEST 53RD STREET. NYC EM REPORTED MULTIPLE SUBWAY INTERRUPTIONS AS A RESULT OF THE SUBSTATION FIRE. AT 02:20, CON EDISON GDS SUPERVISION REPORTED THAT A SMALL FLAME AT THE OPEN-END OF A 4-INCH ELECTRICAL CONDUIT INSIDE THE SUBSTATION EXTINGUISHED WHILE CON EDISON GAS CONSTRUCTION PERSONNEL WORKED TO LOCATE THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK. PRESSURE AND ODORANT READINGS WERE TAKEN AT A STOVE INSIDE THE SHERATON HOTEL, LOCATED AT 811 SEVENTH AVE., AND WERE FOUND TO BE WITHIN ACCEPTABLE RANGES. EMERGENCY MAIN STOP-OFF EXCAVATIONS AND LEAK LOCATION OPERATIONS REMAINED ONGOING AND, AT 09:06, A REPAIR CLAMP WAS INSTALLED ON THE LEAK, WHICH WAS FOUND ON THE BOTTOM OF THE 8-INCH STEEL GAS MAIN. THE 4-INCH STEEL ELECTRICAL CONDUIT GOING INTO THE SUBSTATION WAS DIRECTLY UNDER THE GAS MAIN IN THE AREA WHERE THE LEAK WAS FOUND. FOLLOWING INSTALLATION OF THE REPAIR CLAMP, ALL GAS READINGS VENTED TO 0%. A SEGMENT OF NYC TRANSIT'S SUBWAY SYSTEM WAS AFFECTED, RESULTING IN APPROXIMATELY 1,200 EVACUATIONS FROM STRANDED SUBWAY TRAINS. FDNY FIRE MARSHALS AND NEWS MEDIA FROM CHANNELS 2, 4, 7, 11, AND 12 WERE ON LOCATION. THE FDNY FIRE MARSHAL INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT ELECTRICAL WIRING WAS THE CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT. NO INJURIES, ILLNESSES, OR BUILDING EVACUATIONS WERE REPORTED. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION WERE NOTIFIED.