2007 New York City Steam Explosion - Emergency Response

Emergency Response

The New York City Fire Department initially sounded a second alarm, then rapidly ratcheted the event up to a five-alarm response, sending more than 200 firefighters from 40 units, three of whom sustained injuries, along with one police officer reported injured. A total of more than 500 New York City police officers and firefighters responded to the event.

Con Edison characterized this as an "all hands event" doubling over shifts to dispatch all available utility workers. The steam leak was not immediately stopped to avoid the possibility of creating another rupture. Once the site was secured, the fire department sounded a sixth alarm for relief.

The New York City Police Department established a "frozen zone" by cordoning off a several block radius around the site, from 40th to 43rd Streets between Vanderbilt and Third avenues, restricting pedestrian access. This prevented residents from returning to their homes that evening, and kept thousands of workers from their offices the following day, but people already in the area were not forced to evacuate. The police also initially closed several streets to vehicular traffic in a wider area.