“Rapid Intervention at the Vista Hotel, Above Grade”

Rapid Intervention at the Vista Hotel, Above Grade

On Friday, February 26, 1993, at 12:18 p.m., a powerful explosion took place on the B-2 level of the World Trade Center in New York. The New York Vista Hotel almost immediately became impassable due to the resulting thick black smoke, fallen walls and ceilings, blocked exit doors, and a totally uprooted garage floor with substantial damage from the plaza level down to the B-6 level.

The explosion ripped a hole in a meeting room in the Vista Hotel on the concourse, destroying a glass partition wall (upper right) that separated it from Tower 1 and allowing smoke to migrate freely into the Tower 1 lobby and upward.

(Photo by Port Authority Risk Management.)

VISTA HOTEL — LOBBY/CONCOURSE

It became immediately evident that this was an extraordinary explosion — it seemed to be effective everywhere .it the same time. The service and guest elevators of the hotel were out of commission, with the service elevator walls in a collapsed condition. The walls of the laundryroom on the B-l level collapsed, and pipes were hanging from the ceiling. The employee locker rooms, employ ee cafeteria, receiving area, garage and garage office, police station, operations office, and area leading to the loading dock all w ere destroy ed. Visibility w as close to zero within the B-l area.

At the time of the explosion. 1 w as waiting for an elevator with another individual on the B-l level. An invisible blast wave emanated from the elevator shaft, immediately followed by an onrush of air back into the elevator shaft It was when the backrush of air occurred — not during the intial blast —that building materials and debris began to fall around us.

Immediately following the explosion. I collected myself and also took charge of the ensuing chaotic situation. An immediate evacuation directive was radioed to the hotel fire command station in the lobby, where an assistant fire safety director was on duty as per the hotel’s fire safety plan.

With help from the assistant chief engineer and assistant director of safety and security, 1 conducted an evacuation of the B-1 area. The 120 employees located within the area were directed by voice and light to the only exit that could be cleared for evacuation due to the extensive damage in the area. One employee was temporarily blinded by office glass that exploded in his face; another employee fell and suffered a leg injury. All were removed by security personnel to the safety of the street, where medical aid was available.

Our emergency generator and public address system were still functional after the explosion, and the assistant fire safety director made forceful evacuation announcements to building occupants over the PA system. The emergency generator later was shut down because of concern that it was supplying damaged, energized electrical equipment in the belowgrade areas, potentially subjecting people to injury. In addition, the generator itself was in a damaged area that was subject to collapse.

Security personnel used quick-response equipment located throughout the hotel, such as portable lights and tools, as directed in the fire safety plan. The smoke was so thick and black in places that using lights to guide personnel was ineffective at times. Individuals in the B-l area — both hotel employees and Port Authority personnel—were in a state of shock but evacuating in an orderly file. Concern was raised that another explosion would take place and that the already-damaged w alls and ceilings could collapse further, causing additional damage and injury. After the B-l area was secured and no longer occupied. 1 proceeded to the lobby area to take charge of the fire command station and put in place additional search and rescue efforts by hotel security/fire safety personnel.

After reaching the lobby area of the hotel and assessing the damage, I realized that the hotel had suffered tremendously. A meeting room (adjacent to the Liberty Room ballroom), directly over the point of explosion on the B-2 level, had a large hole in it. At the time of the explosion, guests and attendees in the ballroom areas were evacuated without incident or injury by the security/fire safety personnel on duty in the area. The Plaza Level area, consisting of two restaurants and the executive offices for the hotel, was damaged. Security personnel searched the guest room and public facility areas of the hotel to evacuate and locate any possibly injured guests or employees. The entire evacuation took about 10 minutes, with minimal injury —a very professional job. The time of day (around the noon hour) helped in that the hotel was minimally occupied.

After attending to the evacuation and head count of guests and employees, the hotel safety/security and engineering staff, along with managerial personnel, began to assess the physical and structural damage to the hotel. At this time, emergency personnel were responding to the scene. Firefighters conducted their search operations. During the physical-damage assessment, it became evident that numerous resources had to be mobilized to protect the hotel and property.

BASIC DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

All power for the hotel was knocked out. Telephone service was down. The building’s heat plant was out. No water was available, so sprinkler and standpipe systems were not operational. The fire alarm system was inoperable. Building security was breached —i.e., doors had been blown off and were not functional. The structural integrity of several areas of the building was in question.

RECOVERY EFFORTS

Hotel engineering immediately arranged for consultative and contractual assistance to help correct the results of the blast. We then took the following steps:

  • contacting mobile electrical generating facilities to arrange for a tie-in to the hotel’s electrical system;
  • arranging for mobile steam-generating units and the appropriate tie-in to the hotel systems to safeguard against pipes freezing;
  • contracting with all major trades (i.e., electrical, plumbing, carpentry, steam-fitting, and cleaning) to deactivate any live wires, cap any services required, and provide temporary bar-
  • ricades and enclosures from the elements, as necessary;
  • contacting the fire alarm company to assess damage and reactivate the fire alarm system;
  • hiring a private security firm to aid in the protection of hotel property and render fire watch assistance;
  • contacting architectural and engineering consultants to examine the damages and provide a full assessment of immediate and long-term repairs; and
  • providing all labor necessary to remove hazardous conditions—i.e., falling walls and ceilings and so forth, to render the site safe for further demolition and repair.

The efforts of hotel personnel and on-site engineering contractors were successful in that all precautions were taken and engineering expertise was present for professional assessment. Although damage resulting from the explosion was critical, personal injury was minimal.

Hie success of the hotel evacuation and recovery was due to professional engineering response—professionals were on-site and immediately available. In addition, security and fire safety personnel had participated in collective training and planning. The hotel is scheduled to reopen in mid-1994.

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