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RUSH TRANSCRIPT: MAYOR DE BLASIO DELIVERS UPDATE ON EAST HARLEM EXPLOSION AND BUILDING COLLAPSE
Mayor Bill de Blasio: Now we’re here to give you updates on what is obviously a very tragic situation. And we continue to pray for all of the families involved. This has been a very painful episode for the people of East Harlem. And there’s still a lot of unknowns here, and that only adds to the difficulty for people.
So we’ll talk about the information we have, and we’ll make clear throughout this briefing, there are still things we don’t know. There’s still people missing, there’s still information we need, but we’ll give you everything we can right now. I want to say out the outset, the response by the fire department and all the other agencies involved has been extraordinary. I hope the people of East Harlem and the families and all of the people affected take some solace in the fact that every effort has been expended to address this crisis and search for their loved ones.
I want to thank those who are with me today – Fire Commissioner Sal Cassano, OEM Commissioner Joe Bruno, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, our acting Buildings Commissioner Tom Fariello, the Health Department Assistant Commissioner Tom Matte, from the Department of Environmental Protection, Deputy Commissioner James Roberts, from Con Edison, CEO John McAvoy, and then two of my colleagues in public office, of course the speaker of the City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, who represents the area that was affected, who lives just blocks away, whose district office is literally around the corner, and who has taken an exemplary role and lead in providing help to people who have been affected. Her office has become a staging area and a place where people have been going for help. And I know her constituents deeply appreciate all she has done. I also want to thank Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, who represents the area as well and has been both a good friend and actively trying to help all of the affected people.
Let’s give you the latest on what is obviously a fatal explosion, serious loss of life and building collapse in East Harlem. It’s been – I said a painful 26 hours now. Everyone involved in the rescue effort has given their all. I was up today meeting with some of the first responders. They’ve been fighting through the cold, they’ve been fighting through the wind. Exceedingly difficult circumstances, and they have stuck with it. As you know, the wreckage is still smoldering. At various points the fire got whipped up a little bit again by the wind. And despite all that, our first responders from the FDNY, from EMS, from the NYPD, all the agencies involved, continue to do what they do so consistently. No matter what is thrown at them, they keep fighting. And they’ve done an exemplary job.
The city is no stranger to adversity, and our first responders exemplify what’s best about New York City – that we somehow persevere despite everything thrown at us. And their training, their professionalism came out so clearly in these last 26 hours, and we’re all entirely grateful for that.
The rescue operations have continued. As we know, there’s been confirmed additional loss of life, but we are continuing rescue operations, hoping to find others still alive.
And let me caution to everyone here – to everyone watching at home – that these rescue operations will continue for an open-ended period of time. There will be disruption in the immediate area because we have to continue this rescue operation. We’re very devoted to it.
At the same time, an investigation is underway to understand exactly what happened here. These operations will continue for days as we continue to both do the rescue and learn all we can learn. And we will give updates as we learn more. But here’s what we know right now. Tragically there are seven people now confirmed dead. The identities of two of the victims have been released. They are Griselde Camacho and Carmen Tanco. The identities of the others have not yet been released pending family notification.
Approximately 40 people have been treated and transported by EMS to nearby hospitals, including Harlem Hospital, Metropolitan, Mt. Sinai and St. Luke’s. Among our first responders, thank god, there have been no injuries. In terms of those still not located – either missing or not yet located, not yet identified – anyone who’s trying to find a family member or loved one who might have been in the immediate area of the explosion yesterday can call 311 and ask for the Unified Victim Identification System. Call 311 and ask for the Unified Victim Identification System. We’ve had about 200 calls so far. Anyone outside New York City searching for a loved one can call 212-639-9675. Again, 212-639-9675.
These family members, loved ones, neighbors are still waiting anxiously. Let’s keep them in our thoughts and prayers. In terms of the rescue and recovery operations and the ongoing investigation – the investigation into this incident is being conducted jointly by the fire department’s bureau of fire investigations – meaning the fire marshals, and the police department’s arson and explosives unit. And they’re now working in collaboration with the National Transportation Safety Board.
Because there are still hot spots in the wreckage smoldering – there still is some fire present – the fire operations also continue. The firefighting operations also continue. And the search and rescue operation, obviously, which began after the incident, has continued.
A lot of people have been displaced, a lot of surrounding buildings affected. We vacated 89 residential units and three businesses in seven surrounding buildings due to the ongoing fire operations and because gas and heat are not operating for those buildings. Now none of these vacate orders – and this is important – none of these vacate orders were issued due to any structural problem in the other buildings. They’ve been inspected and determined to be sound.
At this moment, 66 people, including 14 families with children, are receiving temporary shelter at the Salvation Army Community Corps Center, located at 175 East 125 Street. The Office of Emergency Management is opening a resident service center at noon today at that same location, 175 East 125Street. And so the resident service center and the overnight shelter will be co-located. There’ll be a variety of city agencies there, and community-based agencies there to help people. We hope to create one stop where people affected by the explosion can go for help.
I want to emphasize – I know this is something Speaker Mark-Viverito cares deeply about as well. Anyone affected by this tragedy will be helped – anyone, regardless of immigration status. And it’s very important to get that message out. I ask all of you to help spread that word clearly to people. Regardless of immigration status, anyone affected can come forward for help. They should not be afraid. We intend to help everyone.
In terms of the buildings department, yesterday – as I said, the buildings department completed a structural assessment of the surrounding buildings and determined them to be structurally stable and not in danger of collapse. The vacate orders – again – issued to support the firefighting and rescue efforts, and because of the absence of other services. The buildings department is also in the process of inspecting the cellars of buildings in the surrounding block for any signs of flooding due to the water main break that occurred.
In terms of Con Edison, upwards of 70 Con Edison personnel have been on the site, working with fire officials and emergency service personnel. All electric and gas service has been shut down between East 116 Street and East 117 Street on the west side of Park Avenue, as well as on the north side of 116th, near Park Avenue. Con Ed crews continue to work with the FDNY to make sure the area is safe, and to determine the exact cause of yesterday’s explosion.
There have been a lot of concerns about air quality. I was up there again this morning, right at the immediate site. The high winds added to this, they kicked up a lot of dust and a lot of smoke. We’ve sent workers from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection to the site and the surrounding blocks to monitor the air quality levels. At this moment, the Department of Health has issued guidance that recommends that residents in the immediate vicinity of the fire and the building collapse – in the immediate surrounding blocks – three things, limit exposure by staying indoors, and if possible, keeping their windows closed. If anyone in the immediate area experiences shortness of breath, chest pains, or a worsening medical condition such as asthma, they should seek immediate medical attention. The conditions we see out there, as of this moment, are not such as to cause significant health problems for healthy people, but they can have an undue effect on vulnerable populations like seniors and children. So that’s for people in the immediate blocks, very important to limit exposure to the area right around the site.
A message now in Spanish: Quiero decirles a las personas que están siguiendo este terrible evento por televisión: Las operaciones de rescate y la investigación para determinar las causas continúan. Estas operaciones de rescate y la investigación para determinar las causas continuarán por días, e iremos actualizando la información a medida que sepamos más. Para reportar a personas desaparecidas, por favor llamar al tres-uno-uno, 311.
And, if there are other questions as we go along in Spanish, I believe Speaker Mark-Viverito will help me. With that, I think we have covered the basic points. Obviously this press conference is for on-topic questions only. Let’s take questions on this incident. Michael?
Question: Mayor, there have been multiple folks in the area who’ve said they have smelled gas for days preceding the incident. Can you tell us whether or not the city has received any reports of folks smelling gas, either through 311 or 911 in the days preceding this happening? And sort of what efforts are being done to see if those – if any of those reports came in to anybody in the city?
Mayor: When we heard that, we took those reports very seriously, and we’ve reviewed the data. Let me ask Sal – Joe – who has the exact?
Commissioner Sal Cassano, FDNY: We went back 30 days and there was not a report of a gas leak in any of the two buildings – 1644 and 1646, or any of the other surrounding buildings in that area, of a reported gas leak, going back 30 days.
Question: [inaudible] 911?
Commissioner Cassano: It was both. We did not get any calls.
Question: Did Con Ed get any calls?
Mayor: Con Ed, John?
John McAvoy, CEO of Con Edison: We’ve gone back and looked at any gas calls on that block, going back three years, and we found two calls prior to yesterday. One was May 17, 2013 and one was January 26, 2011. Both were on customer equipment internal to the building, and both were repaired at those dates. Other than those two, going back three years for the entire block, no other – no reports of any gas leaks from the area.
Mayor: Okay.
Question: Have you had issues with people coming forward because of their immigration status? Is that something that’s been –
Mayor: Well that’s always a concern. Let me let Speaker Mark-Viverito speak to this challenge. It’s always a concern, especially with people in such immediate need. We don’t want anything to inhibit them. And why don’t you do it in both languages. Oh, let me get you this step here. I’m sorry.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito: Oh, I’m sorry.
Mayor: You are worthy of this additional support.
Speaker Mark-Viverito: You know, my district as it is in terms of New York City, is incredibly diverse and we do have a growing immigrant population, more recently arrived. So that is always an issue, and I am very concerned about that issue generally, so I always want to make sure that it is clear to my constituents and it is clear to anyone that may be impacted, that they should never, never hesitate to ask for help, because we do have an executive order in this city which prevents any first responder, any city agency from asking anyone’s immigration status. So they should never be afraid to avail themselves to services. And I think that that message, it needs to be communicated time and again, and it would be relevant to my district. And when it comes to outreach to people in the immediate surrounding area, we also have to be sensitive to linguistic needs, and that’s something that I always – have shared with the mayor, and I share with every city agency.
Que si, en este distrito, vamos a tener preocupaciones sobre la habilidad de las personas que necesiten el apoyo y la ayuda que las reciban. Y así que, en nuestra comunicación, a través de estos medios y otros medios, es importante que la gente en esta comunidad y la gente impactada sepa que su estatus migratorio, que deberían buscar y acudir por asistencia. Que pueden acudir a mi oficina, pueden llamar at 311, pero tenemos una orden ejecutiva en esta ciudad que protege a las personas – no importa su estatus migratorio. Pueden buscar servicio de la ciudad, y nunca se les va a preguntar ese estatus. Así que, la gente impactada debería de estar pidiendo esa ayuda, y si no se sienten cómodos en llamar al 311, que pueden acudir a mi oficina.
Mayor: Let me ask Commissioner Bruno to further respond on this point.
Commissioner Joseph Bruno, OEM: As the mayor mentioned, we’ve opened up a resident service center at the Salvation Army location on 125th Street. At that location, we will not inquire as to your status at all and we encourage people to come in. We have – the Department of the Aging will be there, Department of Homeless Services, Department of Buildings, for people who want to know more about vacates and what is happening there as well. HPD will be there as well to talk about building vacates. Department of Mental Health will talk about any health issues people have. The Red Cross will be there. We will be there as well organizing that. The Human Resources Administration – HRA – will be there to help with that. If there are insurance issues, the New York State Department of Insurance will be there with us as well. The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs will be there. We’ll have multi languages available or available to us through resources the city always provides. The police department will be there as well. The Bar Association will be there and have lawyers if people want to talk about legal issues – they’ll give some advice. Small Business Association, the Salvation Army, will do [inaudible], along with the Red Cross. So, we have all those services. People should not hesitate to come in. It’s there for the people to come to one location, get whatever they need – and if we don’t have the service there – for example, if people want to know about what happens with their children if they are moving with family and friends, whether they want to transfer the student or get a bus to pick the student up – we will get the information. We have direct contact with DOE and we’ll provide information on that. So, we want – I think, as the mayor said and certainly councilmember said – this is all about getting people as much we can as quickly as we can in one location.
Mayor: Thank you.
Question: I wonder if you, at this point, can tell us what you’re looking at as potential causes of the explosion? Something in the apartment? Outside the apartment? And what role the water main break might have caused? Some people have suggested that if water was going under the pipes for a while, it might’ve even lay at the dirt below the pipes causing the pipes to break of their own accord because there was nothing to support them. So I’m wondering, you know, in terms of looking at what could’ve caused this devastation, if you are going to tell us the whole world of what you’re looking at?
Mayor: I’m going to just be very broad in my response. And if Commissioner Bratton or Commissioner Cassano want to add, obviously they should. First of all, everything we’re telling you here today is preliminary. It’s what we know at this point. But as I said at the beginning, we expect to have a lot more information in the next few days. And then there’s going to be an on-going investigation. So, information will come as it is available, as it is confirmed. I don’t think we prejudge. We know there was an explosion but we don’t know everything about the lead-up to it. And that’s why we’re doing a thorough investigation. And by the way, we can only get conclusive evidence when the fire is out, when the rescue is completed and we really get a chance to look at all the facts. So, I think it would be premature to speculate. I can tell you that every energy is going to be expended to get down to the truth here and learn from it. Commissioner?
Question: [inaudible]
Mayor: I’m – that’s all I’m going to say on this but let’s see if either commissioner wants to add.
Commissioner Cassano: Well, what we need to do is get to the basement. Clean the area out, get rid of – get all the debris out, and then get to the heating units, get to the meters. Places that could possibly be a source of ignition or a source of the leak. And then work our way back towards the street. But we need to clean out the basement and get all the debris out first.
Question: Do you think the water main break happened before the explosion or that the explosion caused the water main break?
Commissioner Cassano: It’s too early to decide that but we will look at that also. We’re going to work with Con Ed and we’ll get back out into the street. But mainly we’ve got to get rid of the debris first. We’ve got to make sure that there is nobody else in the area. So we’ve got to do that first.
Question: Mr. Mayor, two part question. First is, do you know precisely how many people are still missing? And then as a follow-up to the water main break question – both the water main and the gas pipe, these are very old – hundred year – very old pipes. What are your fears about the city’s aging infrastructure and if we might see more of these incidents going forward?
Mayor: Let me – on the first point, I’m – as with all these answers I will start and then if any of my colleagues want to add, they will. We are being very careful not to put out specific numbers until we’re 100 percent sure. There’s still questions about the whereabouts of some individuals so I don’t want to put forward a number until we’re certain. As soon as we have additional information, we will certainly update you. As to our aging infrastructure, we know this is a fundamental challenge for New York City and any older city. This is not the occasion to talk about the dynamics of our national government and the lack of support for infrastructure improvement. That’s a separate discussion for another day. We here in this city have to constantly be vigilant for anything we can do with our resources to strengthen our existing infrastructure and we have to be vigilant for any kind of problem that might exist at any particular location. So, we, I think, pride ourselves in the city of New York for responding very quickly to any particular report we get that’s related to a potential infrastructure problem. And in that, I think we are in a strong position because our agencies are so professional about responding quickly. But you’re absolutely right, you know – this is an older city and this is a challenge we face on an on-going basis and we’re working all the time to try and perfect the strategies that we can achieve within our existing resources.
Question: [inaudible] preemptive measures, knowing an area that has particularly old or vulnerable infrastructure?
Mayor: I think we are always looking for ways – areas with old and vulnerable infrastructure describes a lot of New York City, honestly. But we’re always looking out for ways to improve our ability to communicate with people, to respond rapidly to any reports we get. It’s – look, the one thing I can say we know is people – every member, every person of this city, every citizen of this city – certainly always tell the city government if they see a problem. We – you know – if you see something, say something. We associate the phrase ‘if you see something, say something’ with reporting to the police – and that is true and that is necessary – but I think it’s equally true with other types of challenges. So we want to really strongly urge that anyone who smells gas, report it immediately to 3-1-1 or to Con Ed. And, by the way, that is 24-7. I want to strongly encourage – if there’s something that we need to remind ourselves of at this moment, it’s that if you smell gas, any hour, any day, even for five minutes, report it to Con Ed or report it to 3-1-1 so that appropriate action can be taken. That kind of greater communication is important but I think on the broader front, we are constantly looking for anything that we need to address. I know buildings department – all the time – looking at the structural integrity of buildings. The fire department – all the time – is looking at whether buildings have been made fire-safe or not. This is a constant effort in this city. And that is something we focus on intensely. We devote a lot of personnel and a lot of resources to and we’ll continue and I think over time improve those efforts as we learn better ways to do it and learn from other parts of the country. The broader infrastructure challenge is something we address every single day with the resources we have but that is a tough battle, given that we are not getting some of the support that we deserve.
Question: Mr. Mayor, my question is actually for Mr. McAvoy. It seems like it was [inaudible] thing. It happened pretty much out of nowhere. I mean, the Fire Commissioner is talking about they went back over thirty days – not one report. You guys go back over three years and you get the two minor reports of things that were fixed. But my question is this, what do you say to people who lived in this city to ameliorate any of their fears that, hey, this happened in this neighborhood like that. What’s to say it’s not going to happen in my neighborhood today?
McAvoy: I’d like to add a little bit to that history just to put the performance of this area in perspective cause there have been a lot of reports of leaks being evident for months and or work being done. In addition to a three year look for that leak history and only two small leaks on customer piping being found – all more than nine months ago – we also went back ten years and looked at the history of the gas main on that street – Park between 116th and 117th – and only two cases where any work was done there. In 2011, there was a water service replacement and in conjunction with that we took the opportunity replace about 70 feet of piping. And going back to 2004, there was a leak on a coupling on the gas main and we made a repair at that time. So, again, more evidence, that there wasn’t a historical condition. We also do gas surveys throughout our system. And I’ll describe several to you. First, all the gas mains – the larger lines that run through the street – we survey them every year for gas leaks. And it’s with a mobile device that is extremely sensitive to any leak. We last surveyed this pipe in July of 2013 and no leaks identified at that time. We also are attentive to the effects of deeply cold weather – when it gets very cold, the ground can heave and the freezing and thawing cycles can put additional stress. So in areas that have cast-iron piping, we specifically survey under these extreme weather conditions. We did that both on this block on February 10th and February 28th of this year – so, just a couple of weeks ago, the last one. And again, no leaks were identified at that time. So the mayor’s point about reporting gas leaks early and immediately is really one of the real key takeaways here. Cases where gas starts to leak allow us the opportunity almost all the time to respond quickly. We know that there was at least one resident who smelled gas the night before but did not report it. That might’ve given us an opportunity here and we think in all likelihood would’ve given us an opportunity here had those reports in. So the mayor’s guidance to call Con Ed any time 24/7. When you call us, that is our highest priority – you hear it as soon as you go into the queue that those calls get handled immediately. Or call 3-1-1. Those are the paths available and we’ll keep working to reinforce that message with all of our customers and residents in the city.
Question: So are you saying that that’s really the best that you can tell the people of the city? Is that if you smell something to go ahead and report it? Because that could have alleviated this?
Mayor: No, I think it’s a – I think it’s, by definition, a more complicated reality than just that but let’s start with this. First of all, to clarify, when you call either Con Ed or 3-1-1 these are emergency response dynamics – meaning, the call is acted on. Con Ed sends out a crew if it’s something that’s judged by the nature of the call to be more urgent and immediate. The fire department responds directly. So this is something I think, honestly, a lot of New Yorkers do not know. A gas leak call is not treated as business-as-usual. It demands an urgent response from whatever combination of Con Ed and the fire department. Again, 3-1-1 or calling Con Ed directly – what is the number?
McAvoy: 800-75-CON-ED.
Mayor: 800-75-CON-ED. 800-75-CON-ED. Very important to get that information out. The bigger point really connects to everything we do. What people should have confidence in is they’re served by the finest fire department, the finest police department, on earth. And that we are constantly working to make sure we’re addressing anything we hear about. The buildings department does an extraordinary job – look at the sheer extent of this city, and the age of this city – the buildings department has to constantly assess each building and make sure things are up to code and look for dangers that require immediate response. So, one thing we have in New York City that is not true in much of the rest of the country is such an extraordinarily large, concentrated, focused, public apparatus to protect every form of public safety. And that is happening every day, 24/7. So people can rest assured that these professionals are on the case all the time. We need the public, every time, to work with us. We need the public to work with the police on matters of public safety, to work with the fire department to call in what they see – that’s going to help us do our job better. And so I think when you add up all those factors, we can say there’s a lot out there to protect people. And then – god forbid – an incident happens that they can be assured the response is going to be vigorous and intense and that we’re going to expend effort to save anyone involved and protect anyone involved. Okay, let me – let me – I’m sorry, we’ve got to get around to other people. Kate.
Question: Is there any thought about going back further than 30 days of 311 or 911 calls? And why 30 days in particular? Some people have reported – have said that there were calls going back further than that, and the police from the 25th precinct [inaudible]
Mayor: Let me separate the pieces. First of all there is a full review; a full investigation is going on. It is going to look at all that formally. We will differentiate what we say to you preliminarily today versus what a full formal investigation is going to bring forward to you. What we do know I think now just looking to first to Commissioner Cassano then Commissioner Bratton. The review on the calls went back how far?
Commissioner Bratton: 30 days.
Mayor: Right. Then Commissioner Bratton on the question on the 25 precinct, can you clarify the situation there?
Commissioner Bratton: Actually we preliminarily viewed our calls from 311 and 911 back to 2010. They had no record of any calls relative to gas leaks in that area. As to the issue of the 25 precinct being involved in some type of evacuation, Precinct Commanding Officer has no recollection or record of any such incident involving a gas leak. That was the preliminary review made over the last 24 hours.
Mayor: Preliminary is the key word and there is a number of information that we will continue to bring out as we continue to get them.
Question: Mayor de Blasio, you touched on this a little bit, but the air quality up there. So it’s fine if you’re healthy? You said DEP is up there?
Mayor: I want to differentiate the blocks in immediately surrounding the site. The site is still smoldering. I was there again a few hours ago there is a fire still there. It is smoldering, the wind has lift up the smoke and the dust. I would say just as a layman speaking here, if our friend of the department of health can come in and be more than laymen. I will give the layman’s version, you will get the exact version. If you’re right up on the site or a block away in any direction of the air quality you should avoid it as you can. If you’re right in the immediate surrounding blocks keep your windows shut, etcetera. The point is I think there is a big difference from what a healthy person will experience versus someone with asthma will be that much more vulnerable. But if you go several blocks away, thank God, the situation is a lot better. We are monitoring carefully with the DEP. But let’s let the Department of Health speak on this.
Assistant Commissioner Tom Matte, Department of Health: We are giving the same guidance with this incident with this incident that we always get with structural fires so any burning material produces particle pollution. Particle pollution is one of our important pollutants in New York City. When there is a fire there is more of it especially in the immediate area. Our advice to people is to avoid visible smoke, heavy smoke by being up wind, by being indoors, and keeping windows closed. As the mayor said, particle pollution is a fact of life of New York City. It affects vulnerable people, more people with pre-existing heart and lung disease. They are the ones who should take the most precautions and check with their providers if they are having any concerning symptoms.
Mayor: Just want to note from Deputy Commissioner Roberts, DEP as the monitoring has been ongoing. One of the things that the DEP looks for immediately when there is a building fire is if there’s asbestos exposure. So far we are happy to say that there is no indication of asbestos in the air.
Question: We’re talking about what’s happening now. What about the future of those people who have been displaced? The apartment renters, what is the city doing for them to relocate them?
Mayor: Right. Let me turn to Joe. We started again with the emergency effort to provide immediate support for them. I want to clarify, and again any of my colleagues can fill in the blanks for me. We fully believe in some of the surrounding buildings that right now needed to be evacuated, that they can be restored in short order. But let’s talk to how we’re going to proceed for folks who do not have a home as a result of this.
Commissioner Bruno: As I said earlier, we currently have a shelter. We’re sheltering about 66 people, so these people will be cared for there. HPD, Housing Preservation Development, along with Red Cross, are looking for more temporary houses for them. I have been talking with council as well about perhaps other apartments in the area. So most of the buildings will be restored. Most of the buildings are vacated because they have no heat or electricity. They will be restored. But for those who need it, they will want some shelter for a while. They will then be placed for available hotels or other areas that we can use. We have some affordable housing in the area that we will attempt to place them in as well. So we will do our best. This service center is all about getting those people and seeing how many needs there are and starting to place them. By the way, we do this all the time when a building gets vacated. We often have to take people, put them in a temporary holding place – generally a school early - and bring them to other housing - maybe a hotel or other types of capabilities to house them. So I think we will do the same. We will try our best and we certainly will watch these people in the neighborhood and take advantage of anything – particularly with the council – that we have to utilize.
Question: I’m wondering, what time that first report last night of gas that was reported and have there been any updates in 311 calls about any gas smells around the city since this happened?
Mayor: Let Commissioner Bratton or Commissioner Cassano, may have information on an uptick. I have not heard that but we could see what they may know now or we will confirm back on the first one. There was a report meaning that we have heard that someone had smelled gas. We did not get a complaint to either 311 or Con Ed. I think that’s accurate from the night before. So we don’t have a tangible report. It’s something that’s been spread around that someone may have. But I think it begs the fundamental question about where we go from here. That there should be no hesitation in reporting. It is so much better to report the possibility, even of a gas leak and let there be a response and let’s pray the response shows there’s no problem than to hesitate. And that’s the central part we want to get across here. Anything on the uptick?
Commissioner Cassano: The first four days of March we were averaging about 40 night calls coming into the department. Yesterday, we had about 90 so there was an uptick. There was an increase and we expected it and we expect it to last for a few more days. Now I don’t know about Con Ed, but certainly into the fire department we had an uptick of about 90 percent of the calls.
Question: This is probably for Commissioner Bratton. Was the explosion caught on any surveillance cameras and will this help tell how the ignition took place?
Commissioner Bratton: Yes. We would normally do a full review of the cameras in the area and there were a number of those cameras that did capture images at the time of the explosion. Those will be part of the ongoing investigation.
Question: How many people actually lived in those two buildings? We know there were 15 units, but do we know the actual number of residents in that building?
Mayor: The total number within the 15 units in the building - Joe, Sal, - anyone know that?
Commissioner Bratton: We know there were 15 -
Mayor: The units. Okay we need to confirm that number.
Question: [inaudible] has there been any evidence that the harsh winter has caused any kind of structural problems?
Mayor: In general, do you want to speak to Con Ed first?
McAvoy: Yes, so, we survey the system to try and detect those early, and we really have not seen any significant change in the condition of our infrastructure as a result of this harsh winter.
Question: Mr. McAvoy, you didn’t answer my question earlier. You said that somebody had reported that they had smelled gas the night before. That was not an official report, that was something that you heard after the fact that someone said that they reported it. Is that correct?
McAvoy: When the call that initiated our response yesterday morning at 9:13, as part of that call, the individual said that he had smelled gas the night before. Now he didn’t call the night before, but he included that in the conversation when he reported the call at 9:13, thereby indicating the leak had likely started well before the 9:13 call.
Question: Mr. Mayor, can you talk about emergency preparedness in the city and how this might be reshaped going forward, especially considering the aging gas lines and water mains in the city?
Mayor: I think the emergency preparedness in the city is extraordinarily high and precise and capable right now. Again, we have a lot of ongoing efforts to make sure our buildings are safe, to make sure we’re in a position to respond to any problems very, very quickly. I want to note – yesterday, and this is such a tragedy that has occurred, but if you can find anything that’s a silver lining, it’s that the fire department response time was two minutes from the report that reached the fire department. So we have this extraordinary ability to range across this city, looking for challenges and stopping problems before they happen. And obviously to respond when God forbid a problem does occur. But we’re always looking for ways to improve that. I think everyone standing with me is very devoted to that fact. But I think it’s fair to say that our infrastructure, in terms of safety, is extraordinarily well developed in this city. Grace?
Question: Mr. McAvoy, you had talked about Con Ed working on replacing older gas lines around the city, and how much you do within a given year, why that’s done, and is there any plans for – to speed that up, so we can clear out the old quicker?
McAvoy: That’s a great question. So we have programs for all of our infrastructure. And it looks primarily – not specifically at age, but at the performance of the equipment or like equipment on our system or other systems, as well as the risk presented by the equipment. So for a gas pipe, there’s a couple of things you would look at. You’d look at the type of construction, in this case, some of it was cast iron, which dates back to 125 years. That alone is not a trigger to replace the pipe. Frankly, cast iron is incredibly durable and would not be surprised, it can remain in service several hundred years. But we don’t just look at the age, we look at the types of – the history of the specific pipe, what has been the leaks, the type of soil in the area, which can accelerate the deterioration of the pipe, as well as the pressure at which it operates. This is called the low pressure gas main, it operates at extremely low pressure – about a quarter of a pound. So if you blow into your hand, that’s about a quarter of a pound. An average car tire would be about thirty pounds. So we look at all that and we develop a risk profile. And that goes into determining the targeted areas for replacement. We currently, for the next several years, are planning to replace about 65 miles of gas main per year. That’s up from thirty to forty miles over the last several years, and is a – frankly, a fairly aggressive program. The investment overall in gas infrastructure each year is $500 million, of that $110 million is specifically targeting pipe that we feel needs to be replaced, as a result of performance – one parameter of which includes its age.
Question: In this case, my understanding is it’s cast iron but also plastic?
McAvoy: That’s correct.
Question: But the decision was made at some point that part of it needed to be replaced? Do you know why that is?
McAvoy: I don’t know the history of that specific segment, but there’s a few possibilities in general. One, when we’re digging up the street for other work, either because there’s a new business or someone wants to increase the size of their service – frankly, a big part of the cost of replacing gas main is in the digging. And so we often will say while we’re here, we’ve already absorbed two-thirds of the cost, let’s take advantage and replace part of it. If somebody’s asking for a new service that requires a new interconnection, we’ll often take advantage of that at the opportunity. Or it could be because there were some performance issues in the past that resulted in it leaking.
Mayor: Two questions right there, one next to each other, and then we’re going to close down.
Question: Mr. Mayor, is fifteen minutes an acceptable time for Con Ed to respond to a customer complaining about the smell of gas? If someone calls in and complains that they smell gas in their neighborhood, shouldn’t that be treated like any other fire or any other medical emergency?
Mayor: Let’s break down – I think, because there’s different types – I’d like Commissioner Cassano to explain. There are different calls we get with different natures, and they respond to it differently. The ones that end up, for example, getting referred to 911, and the reason why the fire department would be dispatched – there’s different kinds of calls that would relate to that. So why don’t we break that out, either between you or John?
Commissioner Cassano: Con Ed has a criteria, and I want Mr. McAvoy to explain the criteria. But when it does come into 911 for a fire department response, we’re there in five minutes or less. But we don’t get every gas leak because they’re not – don’t meet the criteria that Con Ed uses. And John can explain the Con Ed –
McAvoy: Yes. So in a typical year, for example 2013, we received about 31,000 calls, so roughly about 85 per day. The large majority of them turned out to be of minimal impact. So we have a screening criteria that determines which of the high priority, the high risk calls. And when the call is made – if we’ve reached that criteria – we’ll immediately call the fire department and ask for an immediate response. They obviously have the means to get there much quicker, speed red lights, and the like. Our response time for our leaks averages about approximately 22 minutes, which frankly, is considered, it’s compared to many – a very aggressive and a very positive response time. The criteria we use looks at really what is the risk or the likelihood of a leak resulting in an impact for our customers or property. And that’s been developed as a result of a lot of experience in this area.
Mayor: Why don’t you give the examples of what those [inaudible]
McAvoy: So a few examples. First, if we receive multiple calls from the same building or nearby buildings, that would indicate a sizeable leak, so that would go immediately to 911 – to the fire department. If someone were to call and site that there’s both the smell of gas and they’re having some type of electrical problem, that might be flickering lights or they may have actually lost power, that dual commodity risk would again result in it going directly to the fire department. Also, if there are people on site who detect gas levels above a certain threshold, where we start to approach the flammable or explosive limit, that too would go directly to the fire department.
Mayor: Last question, right there.
Question: I was wondering, what is the typical response time for gas leaks if someone calls 311 or 911. I understand that 911 obviously would be the quickest response. 311 might be slower, and Con Ed is 20 minutes. Should people call 811 if they smell gas?
Mayor: The idea I think is to call 311 or to call Con Ed directly, and depending on the criteria of the call, they will react. I think what John explained was very important. The operators are trained that, for example, if they’re getting repeated calls in the same area, to immediately dispatch the fire department. So there are obvious triggers that lead to that kind of level of response. I think it gets back to, look, we as the City of New York stand ready to throw everything we have at any problem. What we ask of everyone out there is tell us what you see, as quickly as you see and in as much detail. If someone knows, for example, their neighbors are having a similar problem, or another building down the street – tell us that immediately. If your lights are flickering, tell us that. If your electricity is off, tell us that. That will help to improve the emergency response. But I think in this case, the fire department response was extraordinarily fast, it was just – obviously, as the tragedy was already ensuing. Thank you everyone.
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