From the newsroom of the WBZ-TV, Channel 4 News, Boston, Massachusetts, Thursday, November 23, 2006 .....
Chemical Explosion Relocates Some For Holiday
(CBS4) DANVERS Dozens of Danvers families are spending Thanksgiving away from home after Wednesday's devastating chemical plant explosion. More than 100 homes are damaged -- 25 of them beyond repair.
Families who were evacuated will not be able to get home until at least Friday.
Investigators say it could be weeks before anyone knows what caused the explosion at CAI Inc., a manufacturer of solvents and inks.
Now, residents are racing to get what's lef t of their homes boarded up before today's rains hit.
The explosions occurred about 2:50 a.m. Wednesday at the plant. It sparked a 10-alarm fire that attracted a response from 30 cities and towns surrounding this town about 20 miles northeast of Boston. Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt.
The chemical plant, which was empty at the time, was leveled, and officials said it could take weeks to reconstruct the accident and determine the cause. The roof on a building holding a pizza shop and bakery was torn open and caved in. Fire Chief James Tutko said the nearly 90 homes in the neighborhood all suffered some damage, and up to 25 may need to be rebuilt.
"It looks like a war zone, that's the only thing I can say," he said.
Gov. Mitt Romney, who toured the site, said the devastation was shocking.
"The miracle is you have the equivalent of a 2,000-pound bomb going off in a residential neighborhood at night when everybody is home, and n o one's dead and no one is seriously injured," the governor said.
Residents in the most severely affected areas would not be allowed back into their homes until at least Friday, Tutko said at a press conference Wednesday night.
Staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross were scheduled to staff an assessment center Friday and Saturday to help displaced residents.
U.S. Rep. John Tierney, D-Salem, said the fact so many people were prone -- asleep in bed -- may have prevented more injuries.
"You can see where the blast went in one window and blew out through windows on the opposite side of the house," he said.
Several small structural fires still burned several hours after the explosion. Firefighters attacked them with foam to avoid creating dangerous runoff into nearby waterways.
"All of us at CAI are shocked and devastated by this accident," CAI treasu rer Paul Sartorelli said in a press release. "Our foremost concern is for the safety and well-being of our neighbors and employees."
Company officials did not know what caused the accident as of Wednesday night, he added. Sartorelli said the company had an "impeccable" safety record and underwent major safety upgrades in 2001.
George Merritt, who lives a block away on Riverside Drive, said he got up at 2:45 a.m. to ride an exercise bike that helps him cope with diabetes. He had just put on his head phones and started pedaling when his house rocked from a pair of blasts in rapid succession.
He ran back upstairs and found his wife sitting up in bed, crying. The two quickly ran to their car and drove away.
State Police Maj. Kevin Kelly, who responded to the scene, said he felt the explosion at his home 21 miles away.
Both Tutko and State Fire Marshal Steve Coan said that while CAI makes solvents and inks, the company had a commendabl e safety record. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board planned to assess the site Friday to determine if a full investigation was needed.
The company was inspected once, in 1990, as part of a planned visit by federal officials and no violations were found, according to Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The lack of inspections indicates a lack of complaints to OSHA, he said.
"A lot of people never knew it was there, that's how benign they were," said one neighbor, Jack Fratus.
The Danversport neighborhood along the river is among the oldest in the town, dating to the 1700s. Officials said it has always had a mixture of business and homes because it was developed before there was zoning.
The first concern was the risk of toxic fumes escaping into the air, but officials said air samples were normal.
Mike Nalipinski, on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said preliminar y tests showed low levels of toluene, a solvent, but nothing of significance. Runoff from water used by fire fighters left a purple sheen on the nearby river, and water tests were conducted, but Nalipinski said it would not affect the drinking water and the chemicals would likely disintegrate because they were organic.
Deputy Harbor Master Ron Skinner said there was damage to 10 to 20 boats that had been pulled from the water for the season at a Waters River marina.
Town officials canceled school for Wednesday, the last day of classes scheduled before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Red Cross established a relief center at Danvers High School, which immediately filled with 100 elderly and disabled residents of the New England Home for the Deaf. Some were picked up by family members, while others were taken to a facility at the Beverly Hospital.
The Red Cross was scheduled to leave the shelter Wednesday night.
"These people are extre mely fragile," said state Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers. "Many of them have Alzheimer's and other illnesses. It's clear they can't stay here long, but it's clear they won't be able to return for quite a while."
Volunteers and nurses attended to them -- many still in their johnnies or pajamas -- as they sat in a gymnasium and huddled under blankets. Other area residents rushed to the scene, one offering blankets and insulin, others bringing over food that had been prepared for a Thanksgiving party at a nearby elementary school.
"These are kids from our school district, people in our neighborhood," said Martha Barrett and she and Judith Truax dropped off fruit salad, rolls and corn bread. "It's a miracle no one was killed. It truly was."
Several relief funds have been established for those affected by the explosion.
Donations by cash, check or money order may be made at any of the 73 Eastern Bank branches. Checks and money orders should be m ade payable to the “Eastern Bank Emergency Relief Fund.” The money will be turned over to the American Red Cross, which is overseeing relief efforts in Danvers by distributing supplies to those in need.
Or you can send donations to:
Danversport Victim Fund
Danvers Bank
1 Conant St.
Danvers, MA 01923
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Photo submitted by Gabriel Cheung.
CBS
Nearly 90 homes were damaged, many of them were destroyed.
CBS4/B.Barry
CBS
The explosion took place at the CAI chemical plant just before 3 a.m.
CBS
Chemical Explosion Relocates Some For Holiday
(CBS4) DANVERS Dozens of Danvers families are spending Thanksgiving away from home after Wednesday's devastating chemical plant explosion. More than 100 homes are damaged -- 25 of them beyond repair.
Families who were evacuated will not be able to get home until at least Friday.
Investigators say it could be weeks before anyone knows what caused the explosion at CAI Inc., a manufacturer of solvents and inks.
Now, residents are racing to get what's lef t of their homes boarded up before today's rains hit.
The explosions occurred about 2:50 a.m. Wednesday at the plant. It sparked a 10-alarm fire that attracted a response from 30 cities and towns surrounding this town about 20 miles northeast of Boston. Amazingly, no one was seriously hurt.
The chemical plant, which was empty at the time, was leveled, and officials said it could take weeks to reconstruct the accident and determine the cause. The roof on a building holding a pizza shop and bakery was torn open and caved in. Fire Chief James Tutko said the nearly 90 homes in the neighborhood all suffered some damage, and up to 25 may need to be rebuilt.
"It looks like a war zone, that's the only thing I can say," he said.
Gov. Mitt Romney, who toured the site, said the devastation was shocking.
"The miracle is you have the equivalent of a 2,000-pound bomb going off in a residential neighborhood at night when everybody is home, and n o one's dead and no one is seriously injured," the governor said.
Residents in the most severely affected areas would not be allowed back into their homes until at least Friday, Tutko said at a press conference Wednesday night.
Staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross were scheduled to staff an assessment center Friday and Saturday to help displaced residents.
U.S. Rep. John Tierney, D-Salem, said the fact so many people were prone -- asleep in bed -- may have prevented more injuries.
"You can see where the blast went in one window and blew out through windows on the opposite side of the house," he said.
Several small structural fires still burned several hours after the explosion. Firefighters attacked them with foam to avoid creating dangerous runoff into nearby waterways.
"All of us at CAI are shocked and devastated by this accident," CAI treasu rer Paul Sartorelli said in a press release. "Our foremost concern is for the safety and well-being of our neighbors and employees."
Company officials did not know what caused the accident as of Wednesday night, he added. Sartorelli said the company had an "impeccable" safety record and underwent major safety upgrades in 2001.
George Merritt, who lives a block away on Riverside Drive, said he got up at 2:45 a.m. to ride an exercise bike that helps him cope with diabetes. He had just put on his head phones and started pedaling when his house rocked from a pair of blasts in rapid succession.
He ran back upstairs and found his wife sitting up in bed, crying. The two quickly ran to their car and drove away.
State Police Maj. Kevin Kelly, who responded to the scene, said he felt the explosion at his home 21 miles away.
Both Tutko and State Fire Marshal Steve Coan said that while CAI makes solvents and inks, the company had a commendabl e safety record. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board planned to assess the site Friday to determine if a full investigation was needed.
The company was inspected once, in 1990, as part of a planned visit by federal officials and no violations were found, according to Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The lack of inspections indicates a lack of complaints to OSHA, he said.
"A lot of people never knew it was there, that's how benign they were," said one neighbor, Jack Fratus.
The Danversport neighborhood along the river is among the oldest in the town, dating to the 1700s. Officials said it has always had a mixture of business and homes because it was developed before there was zoning.
The first concern was the risk of toxic fumes escaping into the air, but officials said air samples were normal.
Mike Nalipinski, on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said preliminar y tests showed low levels of toluene, a solvent, but nothing of significance. Runoff from water used by fire fighters left a purple sheen on the nearby river, and water tests were conducted, but Nalipinski said it would not affect the drinking water and the chemicals would likely disintegrate because they were organic.
Deputy Harbor Master Ron Skinner said there was damage to 10 to 20 boats that had been pulled from the water for the season at a Waters River marina.
Town officials canceled school for Wednesday, the last day of classes scheduled before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Red Cross established a relief center at Danvers High School, which immediately filled with 100 elderly and disabled residents of the New England Home for the Deaf. Some were picked up by family members, while others were taken to a facility at the Beverly Hospital.
The Red Cross was scheduled to leave the shelter Wednesday night.
"These people are extre mely fragile," said state Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers. "Many of them have Alzheimer's and other illnesses. It's clear they can't stay here long, but it's clear they won't be able to return for quite a while."
Volunteers and nurses attended to them -- many still in their johnnies or pajamas -- as they sat in a gymnasium and huddled under blankets. Other area residents rushed to the scene, one offering blankets and insulin, others bringing over food that had been prepared for a Thanksgiving party at a nearby elementary school.
"These are kids from our school district, people in our neighborhood," said Martha Barrett and she and Judith Truax dropped off fruit salad, rolls and corn bread. "It's a miracle no one was killed. It truly was."
Several relief funds have been established for those affected by the explosion.
Donations by cash, check or money order may be made at any of the 73 Eastern Bank branches. Checks and money orders should be m ade payable to the “Eastern Bank Emergency Relief Fund.” The money will be turned over to the American Red Cross, which is overseeing relief efforts in Danvers by distributing supplies to those in need.
Or you can send donations to:
Danversport Victim Fund
Danvers Bank
1 Conant St.
Danvers, MA 01923
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Photo submitted by Gabriel Cheung.
CBS
Nearly 90 homes were damaged, many of them were destroyed.
CBS4/B.Barry
CBS
The explosion took place at the CAI chemical plant just before 3 a.m.
CBS