Public Employee Press

1st anniversary of Harlem gas explosion
Members sped to the frontlines to help survivors of the deadly blast

The union remembers March 12, the first anniversary of the deadly gas explosion that killed eight and leveled two East Harlem buildings on Park Avenue.

DC 37 members were first responders: Local 2507 Emergency Medical Techs and their Supervisors from Local 3621 from Stations 16 and 13 helped Firefighters search for victims and set up makeshift triage stations at Park Avenue and 117th and 115th streets to treat victims.

The EMS workers rushed victims to hospitals. Therapists in Locals 299 and 768 and Local 420 members at the Health and Hospitals Corp.'s Harlem, Metropolitan and Bellevue hospitals treated injured and burned victims.

At the 911 Emergency Call Center, Local 1549 Police Communications Techs took more calls than the system could handle. On the scene were Local 768 Medicolegal Investigators and Local 420 Mortuary Techs, who examined and then transported the dead to the city morgue.

The New York Police Dept. ordered dozens of Traffic Enforcement Agents in Local 983 to remove vehicles in a three-block radius. That allowed emergency vehicles to access the scene and enabled the Local 983 members to tow away vehicles damaged as debris rained down.

City employees in Locals 371, 375 and 1549 from the Human Resources Administration, the Housing Preservation Dept., the Office of Emergency Management, the Dept. of Homeless Services and other agencies were on the frontlines in the East Harlem community, providing emergency services and housing for displaced residents, inspecting area buildings for safety, and offering grief counseling and other support services for blast victims and survivors.