1/24/26 Bronx 10-77/4th Alarm/10-60/10-66 Box 4399

entropychaser said:
Looks like a gas fed fire. The electrical power is off. Do they have sectional gas cut-off valves in the building in addition to a main valve going into the building at ground level? Can FDNY shut off any of those valves?
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It starts in the street with a curb valve. It can be used to turn the whole building off. In the basement there should be a valve at the head of the service, before the meters which could be turned off. There could be one meter supplying cooking gas, and another meter supplying the boiler and water heater (if they are gas units). They could also be oil fired.

I don’t think NYCHA residents pay a separate gas bill for cooking so I’m going with one master meter for cooking. Off that meter there should be separate risers with shut off valves for different wings of the building. There should also be shut off valves behind the stoves.

In a controlled situation you would chose to isolate only the affected wing, or the affected apartment (behind the stove) so the whole building doesn’t lose cooking gas. In this type of situation (explosion w/fire), I’d go for the master meters in the basement and shut the whole building off. With an explosion, all lines would have to be tested anyway. When Con Ed arrives, they would locate and shut off the curb valve outside and lock and tag the meter(s).

I do believe some FDNY units carry curb valve keys. With a building this size, finding the valve in the dark is almost impossible. Con Ed would know exactly where the valve is. Keep in mind, not all buildings are the same.

I do believe the FDNY would have no problem securing the gas from the inside.

Hope this helps.
Retired Brooklyn Union Gas (Nat Grid) employee here. The Bronx was NOT our territory.
 
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Rich M said:
It starts in the street with a curb valve. It can be used to turn the whole building off. In the basement there should be a valve at the head of the service, before the meters which could be turned off. There could be one meter supplying cooking gas, and another meter supplying the boiler and water heater (if they are gas units). They could also be oil fired.

I don’t think NYCHA residents pay a separate gas bill for cooking so I’m going with one master meter for cooking. Off that meter there should be separate risers with shut off valves for different wings of the building. There should also be shut off valves behind the stoves.

In a controlled situation you would chose to isolate only the affected wing, or the affected apartment (behind the stove) so the whole building doesn’t lose cooking gas. In this type of situation, I’d go for the master meters in the basement and shut the whole building off. With an explosion, all lines would have to be tested anyway. When Con Ed arrives, they would shut off the curb valve outside.

I do believe some FDNY units carry curb valve keys. With a building this size, finding the valve in the dark is almost impossible. Con Ed would know exactly where the valve is. Keep in mind, not all buildings are the same.

I do believe the FDNY would have no problem securing the gas from the inside.

Hope this helps.
Retired Brooklyn Union Gas (Nat Grid) employee here. The Bronx was NOT our territory.
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Thank you. It is always good to hear the view of an expert.
 
Rich M said:
It starts in the street with a curb valve. It can be used to turn the whole building off. In the basement there should be a valve at the head of the service, before the meters which could be turned off. There could be one meter supplying cooking gas, and another meter supplying the boiler and water heater (if they are gas units). They could also be oil fired.

I don’t think NYCHA residents pay a separate gas bill for cooking so I’m going with one master meter for cooking. Off that meter there should be separate risers with shut off valves for different wings of the building. There should also be shut off valves behind the stoves.

In a controlled situation you would chose to isolate only the affected wing, or the affected apartment (behind the stove) so the whole building doesn’t lose cooking gas. In this type of situation, I’d go for the master meters in the basement and shut the whole building off. With an explosion, all lines would have to be tested anyway. When Con Ed arrives, they would shut off the curb valve outside.

I do believe some FDNY units carry curb valve keys. With a building this size, finding the valve in the dark is almost impossible. Con Ed would know exactly where the valve is. Keep in mind, not all buildings are the same.

I do believe the FDNY would have no problem securing the gas from the inside.

Hope this helps.
Retired Brooklyn Union Gas (Nat Grid) employee here. The Bronx was NOT our territory.
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Used to see them shutting off the gas in the street at large commercial building fires
 
Rich M said:
That is true Dave. As long as they can find it. 👍
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There was a fire off Mckibbens and white stin Brooklyn back in January 1991 in a block of interconnected factories, the gas company had to wait around and dig up a wall that collapsed on the shut off in the street
 
Was Ladder 39 on another run when this came in?
As per the run down, they were called to the scene after the 4th alarm was transmitted.
 
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