Town’s compassion shines through following gas explosions

Published in the September 20, 2018 edition

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — The magnitude of last Thursday’s natural gas explosions resulting in about 80 structural fires in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence continues to resonate.

Tragically, an 18-year-old young man died several hours after the brick chimney of a house on Chickering Road in Lawrence that had exploded landed on top of the SUV parked in the driveway of that home at the moment of impact.

According to news reports, Leonel Rondel of Lawrence had just gotten his driver’s license and was sitting in the vehicle at his friend’s house to see what it would feel like prior to a celebratory home-cooked dinner. The friend sitting with him in that car was injured. His friend’s mom was cooking dinner when the explosion occurred. Her daughter, who was in an adjacent room, was also badly injured, possibly with two broken legs.

They were among the 25 people reportedly injured as a result of the multiple simultaneous gas explosions with a preliminary cause attributed to “over pressurized gas lines” maintained by Columbia Gas Co. The NTSB has taken on this investigation which the federal agency states may take up to two year to complete.

Columbia Gas was upgrading 700 miles of gas lines in that region when this incident occurred and had sent out an advisory to affected customers that morning about what to expect during and after construction, including improved safety.

By Thursday night, everyone in Lawrence who lived south of the Merrimack River had been ordered to evacuate as a precaution. National Grid was called to cut electrical power in some areas, also as a precaution, and shelters were set up in public buildings in areas of each community deemed safe.

By Friday, when it became evident that Columbia Gas did not have the manpower to go door to door to check every home that needed to have its gas meters manually shut off, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency and put Eversource in charge of this public safety exercise. A police officer, firefighter, gas technician and in many cases, a locksmith, were present when homes needed to be entered and no one was home or had self-evacuated.

All hands on deck

Starting Thursday night, the Transcript contacted local officials regarding the town’s response to the ever-changing situation and posted updated on social media, which was abuzz with the reports

According to Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto National Grid, the town’s natural gas provider, was contacted immediately. “North Reading is served by a separate distribution system (than Columbia Gas) and there is no indication of a threat to North Reading.” A reverse 9-1-1 call with was sent out Thursday night and also shared on the town’s website to assure town residents.

North Reading’s Fire and Police Departments responded to calls for mutual aid immediately and helped in three affected communities throughout the weekend. Andover posted a rare 10-alarm call for assistance which garnered all hands on deck. Fire personnel from as far away as York, Maine and Rochester, N.Y. responded.

Gilleberto, along with Selectman Andy Schultz and Selectwoman Kate Manupelli, were among the town officials to stay late at Town Hall Thursday as they awaited a response by Andover for the town’s offers of assistance.

Town water unaffected

Given the fact that approximately two-thirds of the town’s water is supplied by the town of Andover, and that water is treated at Andover’s treatment plant prior to being distributed to North Reading, the Transcript inquired with Utilities Superintendent Mark E. Clark of the North Reading Department of Public Works about the status of Andover’s water treatment plant.

Clark told the Transcript that the Andover plant is “powered by electricity.” The back-up generators, it was later learned, are powered by diesel fuel. Initially it was thought that there could be some “impact in North Reading related to discolored water” due to the water needed to fight the fires. Subsequently, however, at 8 p.m. Thursday, Clark informed the Transcript that he had spoken to a contact in Andover who had indicated to him that “they are not seeing extremely high water demands and he believes most of the fire-related flows are in Lawrence at this time.”

Additionally, Clark informed the Transcript, “Our tanks are full, and the Main Street connection with Andover is closed. At this point, I do not anticipate any significant issues relating to North Reading water quality/quantity.” This statement proved to be true as the town’s three water tanks (Tower Hill, Swan Pond and Moose Hill on North Street) did not lose any volume overnight.

There are two points of entry for the water distribution between North Reading and Andover — Main Street and Central Street. One, the other or both may be used and it is emergencies such as this that prove the value and necessity of having this redundancy available in a public utility such as water.

Mutual aid

Mutual aid was also immediately provided by North Reading to our neighbors to the north. North Reading Firefighters Local 1857 posted the following information to its Facebook page during the height of the crisis:

“North Reading Firefighters are operating Engine 1, Engine 4 and Ladder 1 in Lawrence, North Andover and Andover where a gas line was reportedly over pressurized resulting in multiple building fires. We have members covering the station here in North Reading also. So far there have been no reported incidents in North Reading. If you suspect there is a problem of any kind in North Reading as always call 911 or 978-664-3111.”

Bobcat accident

The Fire Department’s involvement aiding in the aftermath of these natural gas explosions did not hinder crews from tending to emergencies within the town’s borders as the following Facebook post attests following a construction accident on Haverhill Street around 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 13:

“A hectic evening! While our Ladder 1 as well Engines 1 and 4 were in Andover and Lawrence assisting with the gas explosions and fires, the remaining members covering North Reading had their own challenge in town. Shortly after 6 p.m. North Reading Engine 3 and Rescue 1 responded to an address on Haverhill Street for a man trapped in a Bobcat construction vehicle.

“After assessing the severity of injuries and the involvement of entrapment, a Wilmington engine was dispatched to the scene with a second set of Jaws, MedFlight was requested, and a Reading engine was requested to assist at the Landing Zone. After a lengthy extrication, the patient was transported by NRFD Paramedics via our ambulance as the ETA on the helicopter was extended.”

“Teamwork on scene between NRFD and mutual aid firefighters, NRPD and NR DPW resulted in a successful outcome in a challenging scenario,” the post concluded.

Update at Selectmen’s meeting

At Monday night’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Gilleberto provided the following update: “Municipal and school officials extended offers of assistance to neighboring communities Thursday afternoon, evening, and again Friday and Saturday. These offers included hosting a comfort station or shelter in North Reading, which was not necessary,” he said.

As of Monday, North Reading has provided the following public safety mutual aid assistance:

• Two engines and one ladder assisting Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover at various times.

• One Police Sergeant responded as part of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) Incident Command Team Thursday evening.

• One Police Sergeant responded as part of the NEMLEC Regional Response Team Thursday evening.

• One Police Sergeant and two Police Officers assisted in field operations on Friday.

• One Police Sergeant and one Police Officer assisting in field operations on Saturday.

• One Police Sergeant responded as part of the NEMLEC Regional Response Team on Saturday.

• DPW responded to a request for generators on Saturday, however the equipment ended up not being needed.

• One engine responded to Lawrence to cover a Lawrence Fire Department station while Lawrence firefighters responded to a structure fire on Sunday.

• Additionally, North Reading DPW staff were in touch with Andover DPW staff Thursday evening and again Friday morning regarding the water supply.

“Despite the firefighting efforts in Andover Friday night, North Reading’s water tanks remained full,” Gilleberto said. “North Reading also saw increased traffic on Thursday evening due to road closures in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover,” the T.A. said.

Noting that it will be a long-range recovery for all three communities, there may come a time when the town’s offers of additional assistance are needed, Gilleberto said, adding he was thankful for the willingness of the town’s public works and public safety divisions to offer to help in any way they could.

Selectmen respond

Board Chairman Mike Prisco opened Monday night’s meeting with a moment of silence following the traditional Pledge of Allegiance in honor of the life lost, those injured and others struggling in the wake of this tragedy. Prisco said he wanted to “make sure the communities that were affected know that North Reading is here to help. We have been in touch with those communities and we continue to offer a helping hand.”

Additionally, Prisco thanked the town’s first responders “for their quick reaction and their commitment to all those communities to help them through that very challenging time”

Further, the chairman thanked the town’s residents noting how many residents had contacted him and other board members “offering shelter for those who had been displaced, offering food, clothing and support. It’s a reflection upon the kind of community we are and I really am very thankful for that.”

Manupelli said it was “remarkable how people mobilized to get there and help out. I appreciate the effort our T.A. made, as well, in terms of getting the message out to the public and to calm the people here and also get the message out as to what the need was for those communities.” She also thanked the townspeople who “mobilized to help out, from deliveries of diapers, water and blankets (to) offering their homes for people to live, offering their homes for pets, for the people affected by this.”

Schultz offered his sympathy to family of the boy who lost his life and all those who were injured and those who lost their homes. “Our hearts go out to you,” he said. He said the outpouring on social media shows that “this is a community that cares about others and knows how to give in a crisis.”

Selectman Bob Mauceri thanked the public safety employees for their efforts in responding to the crisis quickly. He recalled watching helplessly as the TV news cameras captured a house in Lawrence that burned to the ground “because there wasn’t a fire truck there for quite awhile. You start to think about how we work so hard to get our fire trucks to a fire as quickly as possible. In this case, there just was not enough engines to cover every single fire. It was really a disaster.”

Selectman Steve O’Leary said this incident illustrates the value of mutual aid responses during emergencies and “why it is so important that we maintain these relationships.”

“Personally, I had a brother, a sister, three nieces and a nephew in these communities forced out of their homes. Fortunately none of their homes exploded or caught on fire, but they were displaced nonetheless… I think it is important that we recognize that these types of things can happen,” concerning natural gas, O’Leary said, adding, “Is this a public safety issue we need to be concerned about given the potential of what can happen? Are these providers able to respond appropriately?”