Mass. Governor Declares State of Emergency In Gas Explosions

Latest Developments:

• Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon. He said the move was necessary in large part because of the slow response by Columbia Gas, and replaced the company with Eversource as the lead utility in the recovery effort.
• Columbia Gas CEO Steve Bryant addressed the media Friday, an hour after Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera accused the utility of "hiding from the problem." Bryant declined to answer whether or not the explosions were preventable.
• Crews responded to a high gas reading in Lawrence Friday afternoon after residents reported smelling gas on Crosby and Newton Streets. That scene was cleared.
• Residents were being urged not to try to return home until officials say it is safe to do so. Once cleared to return home, do not attempt to turn gas service back on. Call Columbia Gas at 800-688-6160 to request a reconnection.
• Schools and most other Friday events have been canceled in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence.
• Officials are angry about the slow response from Columbia Gas, which was investigated for a West Virginia gas rupture in 2012. The utility "let one person die," Congressman Seth Moulton said.

LAWRENCE, MA -- Twenty-four hours after the first fires broke out in Lawrence, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts President Steve Bryant addressed the public Friday afternoon. While Bryant apologized on behalf of the company, he declined to answer questions about whether the gas explosions that left a Lawrence man dead and a region on edge were preventable, saying that statements on cause needed to come from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Bryant said he expects the company expects to complete inspections of residential gas stations by "Saturday or Sunday." While denying his company had been unresponsive, he stopped short of saying criticism of his company from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and other officials was unwarranted and said he "respects" Baker's decision to put EverSource in charge of recovery efforts.

Bryant's comments came less than an hour after Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera blasted Columbia Gas for its slow response and poor communication in the wake of Thursday's gas explosions that caused more than 60 fires in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. With his voice at times trembling with anger, Rivera told a news conference about his futile efforts to get information from the utility. At the same press conference, Baker said the lack of response had forced him to declare a state of emergency and put EverSource in charge of the utility restoration and inspection efforts.

"I think we're now at hour 23 and none of this is clear," Rivera said. "My police and fire chiefs still can't get answers they need...they wasted last night calling other utilities to get them to come in and do the work, and my understanding is they did that because they didn't want to foot the bill."

Rivera outlined the poor response from the utility and set an ultimatum, saying Columbia Gas should hold a public meeting by 4 pm Friday to take questions from officials, residents and the media. He said he did not expect the utility to meet its promise to complete inspections by Saturday night and noted that they were the only group that had not set up a command center in the parking lot of a closed movie theater in Lawrence.

"The least informed and the last to act has been Columbia Gas," he said. "They're hiding from the problem."

State and local officials said Friday morning that emergency workers were making slow but steady progress in clearing residents of Lawrence, North Andover and Andover to return to their homes after at least 60 fires broke out Friday afternoon. At a news conference Friday, officials stressed that even once cleared to return home, residents should not attempt to turn on their own gas service but should instead call Columbia Gas.

While the situation was declared stable Friday afternoon, there were new reports of crews investigating high gas levels in Lawrence on Crosby and Newton Streets. The readings were taken after residents reported smelling gas in the area. According to scanner reports, emergency crews were entering a residence at 32 Newton Street just before 2 pm to investigate further.

As the focus turned from emergency response to investigating the cause of gas explosions that caused the fires, National Grid said electricity to 18,500 customers in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence would be shut off at least until 9 am on Saturday morning, while Columbia Gas said it needed to inspect 8,000 individual gas hookups before determining whether they would be safe to turn on.

Fire officials say it could be weeks before they know what triggered Thursday's mayhem, which killed at least one man. Crews from throughout New England assisted firefighters in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover into the early hours of Friday morning as they responded to 70 structure fires set off by the explosions. Columbia Gas customers in Andover and North Andover were told to leave their homes, while all of south Lawrence was evacuated.

Leonel Rondon, 18, of Lawrence was killed Thursday afternoon when an explosion on Chickering Street in Lawrence caused a chimney to collapse on the car he was sitting in. As of Friday morning, there were at least 25 reported injuries.

Lawrence General Hospitals officials told reporters outside the emergency room Friday that they treated 13 victims. One critically injured person was flown to a Boston hospital, one seriously injured person was being prepped for surgery Friday, and the rest had been discharged. Injuries ranged from smoke inhalation to blast trauma.

"We were expecting a lot more [victims,]" Earl Gonzales, chief of trauma surgery, said.

Related: How To Help

At shelters, officials were trying to work with displace residents to retrieve important items like prescription medications from evacuated homes. While some residents in southern parts of Andover were cleared to return home Friday morning, officials stressed that residents should stay away until officials determined it was safe for them to return. Columbia Gas posted a list of streets Friday morning of where residents in all three towns remain evacuated.

Emergency crews worked throughout the night to inspect and turn off gas meters, as well as evacuate homes. While the exact cause remains unknown, fire officials believe utility work may have caused a main gas line to become over-pressurized.

Columbia Gas, the utility which provides gas service to 50,000 customers in the three towns, had issued only one statement by early Friday morning with basic safety instructions. Fire officials suspect leaks caused gas to build up in the homes, and, in some instances, fires were triggered when electrical appliances were turned on, prompting National Grid to cut power Thursday evening.

"Our thoughts are with everyone affected by today’s incident," the Columbia Gas statement said.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-6th District) said he was upset with the slow response from Columbia Gas, noting the company didn't put a notice on its social media feed until five hours after the first problems were reported -- long after State Police and other emergency responders had started helping residents evacuate. Moulton told WBZ radio he had been told by federal officials that the incident was similar to one that happened in Chicago in 1992. "This is a corporation that failed its customers and let one person die," Moulton said.

"People need to feel safe in their homes," he added. "And right now the people of Andover, North Andover and Lawrence don't feel safe in their homes...we need to make sure this never happens again."

Related Story: Columbia Gas Was Slow To Respond To 2012 Explosion In WV

The utility "must immediately bring in additional resources and develop a comprehensive safety inspection plan for each of these communities," Gov. Charlie Baker said at a news conference in the parking lot of a long-closed Lawrence movie theater Thursday night.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into what happened, said Kurt N. Schwartz of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. MEMA and the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities will lead the state-level investigations.

On Friday, Schwartz said Columbia Gas officials were on scene and would speak to the media separately on Friday. "You are going to hear from them. I'm not going to speak further to the issue," he said.

Related: Merrimack Valley Explosions: 'It's A Ghost Town'

Officials in all three communities promised an increased police presence to help keep empty homes safe. The city of Boston was sending 40 police officers to help "help restore calm and keep people safe."

What We Still Don't Know:

A press conference was scheduled for 9 am Friday, at which time more clarity could be offered, but by 9:45 it had still not taken place. Many questions and concerns remain, including:

• When commuter rail service will be fully restored. The MBTA said trains on the Haverhill line will only run between Boston and Reading on Friday. The MBTA will offer buses for passengers at the Haverhill and Bradford stations that will take passengers to Anderson-Woburn Station on the Lowell commuter rail line. No bus service, however, will be offered at stations between North Wilmington and Lawrence. The MBTA will deploy additional capacity on the Lowell line and suggested passengers also consider the Newburyport line.
• The full extent of casualties. While officials seemed to have settled on 70 as the total number of fires, the full list of injuries and whether or not there were any other fatalities remains unknown.
• What role utility work played in the explosions. Columbia Gas has been performing upgrades in the towns: on Thursday morning it issued a press release noting ongoing projects, including four in Andover, three in Lawrence and two in North Andover.

In Andover....

Officials estimated that 8,000 Andover residents were displaced, but some were being allowed to return to their homes early Friday morning. According to the Red Cross, 37 evacuated rstayed at the senior center on Wildwood Court on Thursday night. There is a electronic device charging station there that will be available all week for residents.

Andover has a list of streets that have been cleared for people to return home that will be updated in real time. Residents in the unaffected zone but turned off your gas service manually, LEAVE IT OFF until a gas technician can come to your home and restore service properly.

Fire fighters responded to 17 gas leak reports and put out 38 fires in Andover Thursday, including 18 that were burning simultaneously. All of the fires had been knocked down by 6:45 pm. Three people were injured, including at least one fire fighter, and six other people who could not leave their homes because of health problems were transported to Lawrence General Hospital by ambulance.

In North Andover....

North Andover officials have posted a live list of streets where residents are being allowed to return home. The list will be updated in real time.

"We're trying to return as quickly as possible to let those folks return to their normal lives," Town Manage Andrew Maylor said at a press conference Friday morning.

North Andover officials opened high school to residents who had to leave their homes. Maylor said Columbia Gas crews would be continue inspections of residential gas meters on Friday morning. Gas meters that have been turned off should only be turned on by utility workers, he said.

"A number of residents have their gas services turned off," Maylor said. "Even if you are on the all-clear list to return home, you are not to turn your meter on. You are to call Columbia Gas....I realize this is not going to happen as quickly as you may like."

"I was so impressed with the people of North Andover when I showed up at the high school last night," Moulton said in an interview with WBZ. "They're keeping their heads up."

In Lawrence....

At a press conference Friday morning, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said an evacuation order for all of south Lawrence remained in effect until further notice.

"Lawrence is going to be different than Andover and North Andover. Not because we want to treat people differently but because it's a more complicated situation," he said.

Rivera said officials were trying to work in the most densely-populated areas to clear them for people to return first. All of the roads into the south side of Lawrence remained blocked off.

The Red Cross has established shelters at Arlington School, 150 Arlington Street and Partham School, 255 Haverhill Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts. For more information, call 774-204-5071. They will accommodate pets.

Important Phone Numbers:

If you smell gas, call 911 immediately.

For non-emergency information, including connections to area resources, call 211.

Call Columbia Gas at 800-688-6160 to request a reconnection of your gas service if you have been cleared to return home. Do not attempt to turn your own gas service on. Officials are asking residents to be patient with reconnections.

Eversource, which has now taken over recovery efforts, can be reached at 800-592-2000.

Comcast said it would open its WiFi hotspots in the region to everyone, whether or not they were a customer, through Sept. 17. After connecting to a xfinitywifi hotspot, non-customers should click on the "Not an Xfinity Internet Customer" section on the sign-in page to get started.

More Coverage On Patch:

• How To Help
• Lawrence General Hospital Prepped For Worst After Gas Explosions
• Columbia Gas Was Slow To Respond To 2012 Explosion In WV
• Merrimack Valley Explosions: 'It's A Ghost Town'
• 'War Zone:' Evacuations, Gas Explosions In Merrimack Valley

Other Notes:

• Columbia Gas isn't the only utility being criticized. National Grid workers who have been locked out for three months offered to come back to work to assist with service turn ons and inspections, but the company declined that offer. "We have 8,000 gas mains that need to be turned off. And we have people on that, I'm sure. But National Grid gas workers have offered to help out, and these are trained qualified workers, we're talking about...I think National Grid should do the right thing and call them back and come out here and help. It's a capacity issue right now. I think having that happen would speed up the process tremendously," said State Sen. Barbara L'Italien (D-Andover).

Do you have photos, information or stories to share from Thursdays events? Please contact Dave Copeland at dave.copeland@patch.com or 617-433-7851.

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Photo and video by Jenna Fisher/Patch.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).

Jenna Fisher/Patch contributed to this report.