Radiator "Explodes" & Kills 2 NYC Children

FXProglJr

This surely was a terrible incident. Does anyone know exactly what happened & why? I;m asking because there haven't been any follow-up stories with details.

Mark Eatherton

I suspect this is headed for litigation, and as such, facts will not be disclosed until after the trial. Tragic loss of young life...

In my 40 years, I've NEVER heard of a radiator "exploding"...

ME

FXProglJr

thanks for your thoughts....I can;t imagine one exploding either, but was hoping someone had some real info instead of waiting to hear how the lawyers make it sound.....

stevieg

Im with Mark on that, 32 years in for me and have never seen such a thing. What a terrible situation though.

Mad Dog_2

I still say...

Loose air vent worn thread
Higher pressure than needed
Questionable supervision


Tragic loss. Mad Dog

Fred

I agree @Mad Dog . The last article, I saw, showed the police taking the suspect radiator out for further investigation. It did not look damaged or "exploded".

STEAM DOCTOR

@Fred. I also saw that picture. Seems to me that the shutoff valve is missing. Hard to tell from the picture. Wonder if it snapped off.

Fred

@STEAM DOCTOR I assumed they left the shut-off valve on the steam supply pipe so the rest of the system could still function but who knows. With young kids, they stand on things, play with things, it's even possible there wasn't even a valve on there. So many details we don't know.

STEAM DOCTOR

I meant the tailpiece with the nut. Should still be in the radiator

Mad Dog_2

Millions
of us grew up in the 5 boros with The Steam, I just HATE to see it DEMONIZED. Other contributing factors here..I'll BET ON IT. Mad Dog

Mark Eatherton

STEAM DOCTOR said:

I meant the tailpiece with the nut. Should still be in the radiator

Trust me, if the fire department was asked to remove the radiator, they zipped it with a demo saw. ZING....

ME

STEAM DOCTOR

@Mark Eatherton . Could be. I have seen the tailpiece snap off. Shims under far end of rad. No shims under valve side of rad. Rad pitched toward shutoff valve. Shutoff valve bearing weight of rad. SNAP. Seen it happen. Just saying. Who knows. We might never know. Painful tragedy regardless.

margsuarez

Incredibly tragic. I work as an elevator mechanic, and similarly when a serious incident occurs either involving the public or one of us, the press reports are usually wildly inaccurate and filled with speculation. Sadly, because litigation tends to silence everyone involved, important safety lessons are withheld from us in the trade and from the general public. If the city does an investigation, though, their reports are public and available (months later) on http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doi/newsroom/public-reports.page

The following press reports need to be taken with a grain of salt, but the end of the first quotes a worker with the plumbing company that removed the radiator ("valves ... pop off"), and the second gives some insight into the reason for a wrongful death lawsuit ("valve blew off a steam radiator").

http://nypost.com/2016/12/08/baby-sisters-burned-to-death-were-sleeping-next-to-radiator-that-exploded/

http://nypost.com/2016/12/19/parents-of-kids-killed-by-radiator-having-a-very-difficult-time/

So sorry for that family. No matter how troubled their past, no one deserves to lose their children in an accident.

Wishing every one a safe and happy new year.

marg