Manhole Fires

[Bklyn Buff]

Are the large amounts of manhole Fires due to road salt being used for snowstorms. 50 years of listening to calls and don't remember this many. Large amount of work force being used, folks being displaced and injured. Am I wrong or am I missing something.

 

[Lebby]

Are the large amounts of manhole Fires due to road salt being used for snowstorms. 50 years of listening to calls and don't remember this many. Large amount of work force being used, folks being displaced and injured. Am I wrong or am I missing something.

I think this month has been particularly brutal due to the large amount of snow and ice we've experienced. Also, the city has a new very proactive and efficient Sanitation Commissioner which may have something to do with an increase in salt.

 

[skiLB]

Lebby totally right, we havent seen this much snow in a long time & still early. think were going to get a lot more too.

 

[68jk09]

Manhole Fires (or as the PC Police would say "maintenance hole" Fires ) have always been prevalent during this type of Winter weather (some storm & after storm periods more than others) these aside from being a nuisance & manpower intensive Citywide can also be serious ......there is a danger to operating personnel & passerby from an explosion or sometime electrical conductivity as well as Fire extension to a nearby dwelling or vehicle....always be alert at these incidents.... many times just when things seem dormant or routine... BOOM !.....as Lebby stated maybe at times there is more salt applied....this is a good point...it seems to me that in years past most storms had salt applied AFTER the snow stopped falling & AFTER the streets were plowed....in the last few years the practice in NYC seems to be (what may be considered to be more proactive) when a heavy snowfall is "predicted" a liquid brine solution is put down on the dry streets as well as salt beforehand so this is under the falling snow....then after plowing more salt is applied .....this all results in corrosion & conductivity in the underground electrical systems .....the system does work better for clearing the streets but the price can be the manhole / power loss issues.....in recent years here in NYC i have also seen salt being applied to the streets when a snow was "predicted" then did not occur...this salt remains until the next rain then washes into the manholes..... also the possible explosions can also be a danger to those eating in one of the makeshift third world huts in front of NYC restaurants....a flying manhole cover could be deadly if it lands on an occupied shack....also as i had said back when these first appeared what about those enclosures if actually built OVER a manhole....aside from a possible explosion what about vapors & gasses that normally dissipate in the air ? these gases could now be encapsulated in this enclosure while unsuspecting diners breathe odorless / colorless CO .....a bizarre thought ? maybe but things do happen.

 

[AuxWarYearsCapt]

Special call those FIRE ICE engine co's.

When it started the chiefs has no clue how it actually worked until we would pull up and put it into operation. After that we never knew where we would end up

 

[8060rock]

And with manhole incidents, if you are on scene and there's an explosion, rather than cover your head as is usual - you actually look up to see where the manhole cover might be heading.

 

[AuxWarYearsCapt]

Sometimes that's not possible if it happens so quickly. Alittle while back we were S/C for the fire ice to Bushwick Av in Brooklyn. While there the manhole blew and the cover hit a member on his head. If l remember correctly the FF was from TRIPLE DUCE...

 

[scoobyd]

That was the Capt of E222. He was not hit in the head but did sustain very serious injuries that ended his career.

 

[memorymaster]

Between manhole runs, odor of gas runs, EMS runs and stuck elevators the units have forgotten what the inside of their quarters look like.

 

[AuxWarYearsCapt]

That was the Capt of E222. He was not hit in the head but did sustain very serious injuries that ended his career.

Thanks scooo. It's been a while