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Two children and one adult injured in manhole explosion
Two children and one adult suffered minor injuries when a manhole exploded on Church and Warren this afternoon at 3:53pm knocking the manhole cover off its base and spewing steam and a black residue several feet in the air. M. heard the sound from her apartment nearby — it was so loud that she rushed outside to see what had happened — and sent this picture at 4pm.
The FDNY report said that three manhole covers were blown, all nearby. The street is now closed and crews are on the scene making repairs.
The NYPD said the kids and the adult with them were taken to New York Presbyterian and were in stable condition. They said the Fire Department is investigating; I also have a call in to to ConEd to better understand *how* this could happen.
M. said the staff from Tribeca Pediatrics came out to help the kids; police officers were also on the scene almost immediately. S. who also lives nearby, said they heard the explosion in the apartment and thought at first it was a car crash, but it seemed too loud even for that.
I will update when I learn more from the FDNY or ConEd.
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Is this related in any way to the ConEd work being done on Warren St?
This is not the first time this manhole has “exploded”. It did it as recently as the heavy snow a couple weeks ago. Now that injuries have resulted, maybe ConEd will actually fix whatever it is that allows melting snow/salt to short out the wiring.
If you look at the photo, this manhole cover is solid and not vented to allow gases to escape before exploding.
From a 2019 NY Times article:
“Rock salt on icy streets can cause mayhem below them[.]
“When rock salt melts ice, and the water seeps down manholes and into electrical units, it can set off fires and explosions strong enough to pop a 300-pound manhole cover five stories into the air.
“For days after a storm, Con Edison officials say, they often deal with scores of electrical fires caused by the rock salt eating away at electrical cable insulation. The wet salt can create sparking that burns the insulation, producing both fire and gases that can combust and pop the manhole lids.
“To alleviate the threat, the officials said, the utility switched most of its manhole covers to vented ones that allow gases to escape, ‘so they cannot form a combustible amount,’ Mr. McHugh said.
“ ‘It also lets smoke escape, which can tip off the public to notify the authorities,’ he added.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/nyregion/winter-weather-manholes-pipes.html
Apparently Con Ed thinks this solution justifies possibly worsening the cause. Do the vents allow substantially more conductive, salty water to enter the manholes in the first place?
No wonder there were so many workers out there!
Tons of comments on Citizen talk about the use of salt leading to erosion of wiring.
Remember the one that happened just up at Leonard and Church recently? Apparently this has been happening all over the city this winter, given the amount of salt dumping in prep for snow.