Explosions likened to ‘2-ton bomb’ rip Danvers, Mass.

‘Miracle’ no one seriously injured

DANVERS, Mass. – Jim Glavin planned a quiet early morning, with a few hours of reclining on his couch and watching TV. His plans were abruptly interrupted.

A chemical plant across the street erupted with a spectacular pair of explosions -throwing Glavin off his couch and sending a blast felt all the way in New Hampshire, more than 20 miles away.

Glavin, 70, found his feet, then found his kitchen floor littered with shattered windows and the contents of his cabinets.

His back door was blown off the hinges and resting on the opposite stairs. Floor supports in his cellar were knocked over, and the house twisted on its foundation.

Outside, a ball of flame rose high above the neighborhood.

Glavin called out to his son and daughter, and they joined their neighbors in a quick exodus.

“I thought for sure a plane exploded,” Glavin said. “I’d swear I was in Lebanon or something. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

The explosions occurred about 2:50 a.m. Wednesday at CAI Inc., a manufacturer of solvents and inks. They 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 no 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 treasurer 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 commendable 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 preliminary 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 the day, 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 extremely 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.”

—

AP reporters Glen Johnson in Danvers and Mark Jewell in Boston contributed to this report.