By Mark Hallum
A gas main burst from a wall collapse on Northern Boulevard between 112th Place at 114th Street in East Elmhurst last Friday, warranting a response from multiple agencies and possibly causing one non-life threatening injury.
FDNY responded to the incident around 2 p.m. on Jan. 4 and said the a gas explosion had rocked the street in East Elmhurst next to a constriction site, shooting dirt everywhere.
The construction site, which appears to be building in the early stages of being erected, is not confirmed to have caused the damage to the main, according to ConEd who shut off two valves upon arriving at the scene.
Con Edison further reported that a retaining wall at the construction site collapsed, and that triggered the ensuing gas main break. The Fire Department said that a partial street collapse ensued and the injury that was reported may have been from a preexisting condition not related to gas line burst.
FDNY aerial footage shows the retaining wall to the construction site sustained a large hole where dirt poured in and caused the street to collapse.
The city Department of Buildings was on site to assess safety as well as the city Department of Environmental Protection who were responding to a water main break, according to ConEd.
The energy provider said there were no customer outages in the area resulting from the blast.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhall
