NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document
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TrizecHahn Office Properties Inc.
1114 Avenue of the Americas
TrizecHahn
OFFICE PROPERTIES
31st Floor
New York, New York 10036
Tel 212 382 9300
Fax 212 382 9333
Gerard V. Schumm
Vice President
Northeast Region
212.382.9392
March 14, 2002
Ms. Marolyn Davenport
Senior Vice President
Real Estate Board of New York
570 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Re; One New York Plaza Explosion - December 1, 2001
Dear Marolyn:
The following is a brief summary of the explosion that took place at One New York Plaza
on December 1, 2001. It is being provided for informational purposes only and
represents, to the best of our knowledge, all available information on the incident.
• As a result of the steam turbine failure of August 11, 2001, a decision was made to
dismantle the 6,000-ton steam driven refrigeration machine at One New York Plaza.
• Demolition of the equipment began in mid November.
• Towards the end of November, the removal of the condenser commenced.
• On December 1, 2001, during the actual demolition process, the titanium tube bundle
ignited.
• Efforts were made to extinguish the fire, but initial attempts were unsuccessful.
• The NYFD arrived on the scene and the effort to extinguish the fire continued.
• At that time the fire was contained within the shell of the partially demolished
condenser.
• At some point in time during the process water was introduced and the explosion
ensued.
• To the best of our knowledge there were no serious injuries.
• The force of the blast knocked over several lengths of block walls in adjacent areas.
• Equipment damage in the mechanical room was minimal.
Based upon your initial inquiry, I realize that there may be interest among the REBNY
membership to learn from the events at One New York Plaza. Extensive tests have been
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