NEW YORK _ A steam pipe explosion rocked Manhattan's Flatiron District Thursday morning, forcing the evacuation of nearby buildings and shutting down rush-hour traffic.
Plumes of white steam and smoke several stories tall from the ruptured 86-year-old, 20-inch pipe filled Fifth Avenue near 21st Street and shrouded the iconic Flatiron Building.
"At 6:39 we had the rupture of a high pressure steam main at 21st and Fifth _ that's a 20-inch steam pipe that was installed in New York City in 1932," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
"I was riding my Citi Bike to work and just as I was crossing Fifth Avenue around 25th Street, I looked down Fifth Avenue and saw smoke coming," Jerry Bonura, who works at a consulting firm, told the New York Daily News.
"Smoke cloud wasn't too big at first but I could tell it probably wasn't a fire since the smoke was lightly colored as opposed to dark colored from a building fire and I heard kind of a windy/blowing noise coming from it."
Twenty-eight buildings were evacuated, while four civilians and a police officer sustained minor injuries. About 100 firefighters had to undergo decontamination as a precaution, officials said. Their clothing had to be bagged and will be cleaned.
The incident raised fears of asbestos contamination and the need for repairs to underground equipment could result in the shut-down of streets in the area for days. "This is a massive undertaking," Nigro said.
"The major disruption is that, not only did the steam line burst, but it caused a disruption of a gas line, a water main and some electrical power," he added.
Results from air quality tests were expected by the afternoon. "If it's positive for asbestos, that will require a lengthy period to decontaminate the buildings," Nigro said. "It won't be done this afternoon. Let's put it that way."
While no buildings were damaged, the 28 buildings will have to be checked for asbestos contamination and will remain closed in what officials called a "hot zone." A Con Edison spokeswoman said air conditioning and hot water service to 27 buildings were affected.
Nearby streets were closed after the blast, creating a morning rush-hour nightmare.
"I looked around and saw this big huge plume of steam shoot into the air," said Daniel Lizio-Katzen, 42, who was riding his bike home to the West Village. "It was a pretty violent explosion. The steam was shooting up into the air about 70 feet. It was pushing up at such a high pressure that it was spewing all of this dirt and debris. The cars around were coated in mud ... It left a huge crater in the middle of the street."
Brendan Walsh, 22, a senior at NYU, had just gotten off a 6 train and was headed to class when he saw the plumes of steam.
"The billows were about six stories high. There was a large scatter of debris," he said. "I was standing behind the police line when a Coned worker came rushing over and screaming at police and firefighters to push everyone north because he was worried that there could be secondary manhole explosions."
"Everyone _ including the police and firefighters who were standing by _ started moving back," he added. "The smoke was shooting up from the manhole and a large crowd had gathered."
Con Edison workers were on scene isolating the steam lines. The FDNY was monitoring the air quality and had set up two decontamination areas.
