Consultant Gives Andover's Gas Crisis Response Positive Review

ANDOVER, MA — Consultants hired by the town to review its response to the Sept. deadly 2018 gas explosions told the Select Board Monday that the town responded as well as any community could. Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, of the Ed Davis company, said that while his team did have a number of recommendations, the town was well-prepared, acted quickly, and provided necessary information. The high priority recommendations were to increase training, to add a second fire department radio channel and to adopt WebEOC, an emergency management software program.

The Sept. 2018 Merrimack Valley explosions killed one, injured 25 and destroyed or damaged more than 130 structures.

The report to the town came the same day as a state report on the broader response from the state and the three towns affected, Andover, North Andover and Lawrence. The state report recommended a unified command/coordination structure for future crises, but noted the local structure worked well for the initial response.

The Edward Davis company report is not yet available, but Davis summarized it for the Board, praising the response of the town's departments.

"You were out front. You gave the information that was necessary," Davis said. "I can't imagine any community responding better than you did that night."

"The protocols that the Emergency Management Working Group put into place were precisely aligned with the national emergency management system. That's the bible for us in public safety."

Town departments were even on their toes for tracking costs, Davis noted.

Bill Taylor, a former Lowell police superintendent, did many of the interviews and investigation for the report. He noted one problem was that, because the three towns were all involved, "traditional mutual aid resources" were not available, and there was a lag time in getting resources from further away. Improved communications, including an additional fire department radio channel, would have helped.

Davis also recommended reviewing all the utilities in Andover and making sure the town has relevant maps.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.