On November 21, 1996 a gas line explosion rocked the small San Juan Metropolitan area community of Rio Píedras. Following the settlement of debris, 33 lives and a number of homes and commercial properties were lost. In an effort to access the structural integrity of the affected buildings and the capacity to which existing infrastructure was damaged, the Secretary of Transportation and Public Works, Dr. Carlos Pesquera, contacted Dr. Rafael Jimenez to lend emergency support in the field. Dr. Jimenez and other members of his staff mobilized within hours of the explosion to perform the inspection of the damage, structural integrity assessment of the remaining facilities and provide general advice to the Secretary under adverse circumstances and in potentially hazardous conditions due to the threat of reoccurring gas related explosions.