Urban search and rescue in New York City following a commercial building collapse.

Unapproved construction repairs to the bearing wall of a commercial building at 24 West 31st Street in midtown Manhattan caused the collapse of the entire side of the building, injuring 11 people and killing the building's owner. The remaining three sides of the structure remained free-standing, further endangering both victims and rescuers with the possibility of secondary collapse. A planned and coordinated collapse rescue plan, implemented within the structure of the Incident Command System, facilitated the rescue of one trapped victim after nine hours, and limited the number of rescuer injuries to two. A number of special problems occured. Traffic jams surrounding the collapse site impeded some of the emergency response. The underground rapid transit system (subway) added to the ground vibration in the collapse area. Fifteen different train lines were forced to suspend service, including Amtrak, the Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit, and Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH). Sensitive audio equipment, inserted in void spaces to listen for victim's cries or breathing, picked up a lot of background noise, making its use difficult