This video recording contains clips from three different television news stories reporting on a steam explosion in the Texas Medical Center. The videos were recorded on a 3/4" U-matic tape, and the total runtime is just over four minutes.
(0:01) Segment 1 "Explosion," Newscenter 11, anchor Steve Smith. The segment begins with Smith speaking, accompanied by the headline "Explosion" and a graphic showing "Texas Medical Center Gate 7." He reports on a "leak and explosion in a Medical Center steam line." It took place at the intersection of Holcomb and Bertner around 6:30. The clip then cuts to Nancy Carney reporting from the scene. She stands by the TMC Gate 7 sign, which is covered in mud. The segment describes shockwaves, flying concrete and mud, two nurses injured, and ten cars damaged. Then there is an interview Henry Kroeger, TMC Heating & Cooling Cooperative, who describes what happened. Next is an interview with Herman Pressler, "President, Board of Directors, T.M.I." He goes over canceled surgeries including all surgery at St. Luke's/Texas Children's Hospital and all elective surgey at Hermann Hospital. The segment concludes with an image of a crew working in the hole left by the explosion.
(1:24) Segment 2 "Untitled," Unidentified broadcast with unidentified male anchor. He reports that the explosion at the corner of Bertner and Holcomb "caused quite a traffic jam, but little else." As images of the site and ongoing repairs play, he continues his narration. He describes a hole six feet wide and twenty feet deep and damaged cars. He reports that Brown and Root, Fisk Electric, and the Medical Center all have repair crews working.
(2:01) Segment 3 "Medical Center Explosion," Channel 13 Eyewitness News, anchor Dave Ward. Ward leads with the announcement that Medical Center facilities were having to "curtail" medical procedures due to an explosion that "crippled" seven buildings. The segment then cuts to images of construction/machinery and the narration switches to Elma Barrera. She describes a "severe" explosion at the corner of Holcomb and Bertner that "left a gaping hole, scattered "huge concrete blocks," knocked down traffic light poles and street signs, and damage nearby vehicles. She reports, "The explosion had been severe, but no one knew how or why it happened." In the background is the same Gate 7 sign visible in the Newscenter 11 segment. In an interview, R.H. Stuttz. discusses the disruption of steam to the hospitals and the ongoing investigation. There is footage of a man who appears to be Henry Kroeger, TMC Heating & Cooling Cooperative, who also appears in the Newscenter 11 segment, but Barrera continues narrating and his interview is not audible. She reports seven buildings were affected, with the worst impacts on St. Luke's and Texas Children’s, but also MD Anderson and Hermann Hospital. In an interview, P. R. Maddeaux, St. Luke's Hospital describes the impact on surgical schedules, noting "we can't sterilize without the steam." Barrera reports two people were injured, with one treated and released and the other, an unidentified woman, remaining in the hospital in good condition. The segment concludes with more views of construction machinery at work.
