Eyewitness News rides along with Con Ed gas detection vehicles

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Since the deadly gas-fueled explosion in the East Village that destroyed three buildings, Con Edison has been flooded by reports of possible gas leaks.

The utility company has received more than 1,700 calls in the six days after the explosion, a 64 percent jump from the 1,100 calls in the six days before the explosion.

Con Ed uses some special equipment to detect leaks, and Eyewitness News reporter Rob Nelson rode along with a crew to see how it works.

Driving slowly in New York won't win you many friends, but it's a trek through city streets that could save lives.

"Those trucks are out there," Con Edison spokesman Bob McGee said. "They're doing something that ensures the safety of everyone."

There are 28 vehicles gas detection vehicles used by Con Ed, designed with front-end suction cups to detect even trace amounts of gas in the street and set off alarms inside.

Twelve times a year, the vans survey the entire city. And it wasn't far into the ride-along Friday when a leak was detected on Elizabeth Street in NoHo.

After several preliminary tests, gas levels were deemed high enough to inspect nearby businesses and then call in construction crews for immediate repair work. The odor was strong enough to be smelled from the sidewalk.

Everything was fine inside the stores, but the work is far from over. Repairs crews blocked off the street, reaching out to owners to move their cars and then trying to pinpoint the leak.

The technology has been around for decades, but after the deadly explosions in Harlem and the East Village, Con Ed has been flooded with calls about possible leaks, 1,100 in the six days before the Village tragedy, 1,800 since.

"It's the calls that we don't get that we worry about," Con Ed supervisor John Dimiceli said.

Worries were kept to a minimum Friday, except along Elizabeth Street, where crews will work for hours to pinpoint the leak and put in a new pipe.