A woman pulls a suitcase as she passes the site of a steam pipe explosion in midtown Manhattan Thursday, July 19, 2007 in New York.
New York city police officers wear masks while blocking pedestrians from entering Park Ave. above 40th St., Thursday, July 19, 2007 in New York.
New York city police officers block the Lexington Ave passage as a Metro North conductor gives morning commuters directions on how to exit Grand Central Station Thursday, July 19, 2007 in New York.
A tow truck sits in a hole in the street after an underground steam pipe exploded in midtown New York City, Wednesday, July 18, 2007. A titanic geyser of scalding vapor and earth erupted from a Manhattan street near Grand Central Terminal, sending people running for cover as debris rained down on the street.
Emergency personnel surround the site of a steam explosion in midtown Manhattan, Wednesday, July 18, 2007.
Emergency personnel look at a tow truck lying in a hole in the street after the steam explosion in midtown Manhattan, New York, Wednesday, July 18, 2007.
Firefighters examine an abandoned school bus as debris and steam billow after an underground steam pipe explosion, Wednesday, July 18, 2007, in Midtown New York.
Police officers use wet cloths to aid breathing as debris and steam rise from a steam pipe explosion, Wednesday, July 18, 2007, in New York.
Emergency service vehicles block 42nd Street near the site of an underground steam pipe explosion, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 in New York.
Police, firefighters and utility workers respond to the scene of an underground steam pipe explosion in New York, Wednesday, July 18, 2007.
A plume of steam rises over Manhattan, Wednesday, July 18, 2007. This photo was taken from Daniel Modell's office at the London Music Group on the 59th floor of the Empire State Building.
New York City firefighters await their next assignment near the scene of the steam pipe explosion, July 18, 2007.
Steam continues to spew from Lexington Avenue, July 18, 2007.
Firefighters wait near an abandoned school bus at the site of the steam pipe explosion, July 18, 2007.
Pictures of stunned New Yorkers covered in debris, like this one, evoked the kind of fear and confusion of Sept. 11, but officials ruled it a utility accident, not an act of terrorism.
A police officer wears a wet cloth as a mask to protect himself from the mix of steam and mud.
Steam erupts from the street behind an abandoned school bus.
Amazingly, only one person died, and that from a heart attack.