Officials: No sign of asbestos following Midtown East steam line rupture
NEW YORK -- Parts of Second and Third avenues are still shut down in Midtown East for a massive cleanup effort stemming from a steam pipe leak early Wednesday morning.
The city said tests show no signs of asbestos so far, but it is still asking people in the area to stay inside and wear masks.
Mayor Eric Adams said the leak happened around 6 a.m., but FDNY sources told CBS New York that firefighters were in the area about 11 hours earlier than that.
Watch Tim McNicholas' report
A street covered with dust and workers in hazmat suits. That is what Jerry Ferris and his son, Asher, saw when they woke up in the morning.
"Never seen anything like it before," Jerry Ferris said.
And the night before they say around 9 p.m. they captured images of vapor billowing over Second Avenue.
"Only because we were there, we noticed that it was more intense than usual," Jerry Ferris said.
Watch Jenna DeAngelis' report
The FDNY said firefighters were called to the scene around 7p.m. Tuesday for reports of the vapor, and then again at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday. Con Edison said its crews also responded and tried to use devices called steam stacks to control the situation.
When asked what was done to try to alleviate the pressure, Hugh Grant, the vice president of District Energy System at Con Ed, said, "So, initially, we had a call in regards to a vapor condition on the location. While we responded and were on site, that condition worsened, and ended up with a release of steam."
READ MORE: Midtown East residents anxious over air quality test results after steam pipe rupture
The leak brought morning traffic to a crawl in the area and forced several businesses to close for the day.
"Probably lost a couple thousand dollars today," said Xan Garcia, owner of Cornerstone Tavern.
Garcia said the NYPD told her she could reopen at around 5 p.m.
"Always scary and, ya know, you wanna make sure everyone is okay," Garcia said.
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Back in 2018, eight people did suffer minor injuries in a steam pipe explosion in the Flatiron District. A 2007 steam pipe explosion near Grand Central Terminal injured dozens and one woman suffered a heart attack trying to escape.
"You don't see that happening that often, but when it does it can be pretty catastrophic because the steam, it doesn't have anywhere to go," said Rae Zimmerman, an engineering professor at NYU.
Con Ed said, unlike those others incidents, there was no explosion associated with Wednesday's leak, which could be why no one was injured.
But the city said it could take a few days or more to clean everything up.
Second Avenue was still shut down from about 51st Street to 53rd Street and Third Avenue was also closed in the area.
The cause of the leak is still under investigation.
Con Ed eventually shut down part of the steam main, disrupting service to eight customers.