Gas Tanker Explosion Rocks Neighborhood

BOSTON -- A gasoline tanker truck overturned, caught fire and exploded in Everett, Mass., early Wednesday morning, the blaze destroying several multi-family homes and forcing at least six families and residents of a nursing home to evacuate.

No injuries were immediately reported among the 47 residents and 84 senior citizens who fled the blast scene.

"It's absolutely incredible that nobody was killed and nobody was injured," Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said after reviewing the scene.

Hours after the explosion, however, firefighters were still trying to extinguish a fierce blaze in one of the buildings. Officials said the structure was so unstable that firefighters could only battle the flames from the outside, dousing them with ladder trucks and hoses.

Both buildings will have to be demolished.

The tanker truck driver was identified as Chad LaFrance, 30, of Dover, N.H. Officials said he escaped the crash with only minor injuries. State police said LaFrance would be charged with speeding. The accident remains under investigation.

State police said the motor carrier was identified as PS Marston Associates LLC of North Hampton, N.H. The trucking company was identified as Abenaqui Trucking, which released a statement.

"We want to express our concern for the families and individuals that were impacted by this unfortunate incident, and we are gratified by the reports that there have been no personal injuries at this time," said Paul Marston, of Abenaqui Carriers.

The crash happened shortly before 2 a.m. on Main Street near Broadway as the truck was traveling on a rotary to Sweetser Circle.

The tanker was carrying 9,400 gallons of fuel, which leaked into the surrounding area and exploded into fire, devouring several nearby residences.

One Main Street resident, Chris Barrow, said he awoke to the sound of a blast.

"Just heard a big bang and we thought it was just a car accident. We went outside and the fire was already in the rotary, just coming down the hill towards the houses as fast as you could think. Our reaction at first was just to get out of the houses, and we ran and got our shoes and whatever on, and we went outside," Barrow said.

"By the time we got outside, the fire was about 10 feet away from us and I jumped in my car to try to back my car out of there to try to give us some shelter when we got out of there and I didn't realize that the fire came around us and surrounded us. And I rode over the fire and my car caught on fire. I got out just in time and I ran a couple feet just before it blew up," Barrow said.

Two multi-family buildings and 40 cars caught fire. The senior housing complex nearby was evacuated and some 85 residents were taken to the Whittier Elementary School, then later moved to the armory on Chelsea Street.

Barrow said he got another scare when he saw another resident trying to save a car.

"I looked down the street and there was another gentleman that jumped in his car, maybe five or six cars before me, closer to the fire, and looked like he caught on fire. He was jumping around. I just heard that he was all right. It was just his jacket that caught fire," Barrow said, adding that he ran to help the man but was unable to reach him.

"We're just very lucky to be alive," he said.

"It was just a big pop. At first I thought it was a transformer. Then I looked out the window and I saw all the brightness and I called it in," one of the evacuated residents said.

"I thought it was fireworks at first. But, thank God, everybody's out, and that's the important thing," a resident of the elderly housing complex said.

"As disastrous as this incident was, I think we had a very successful conclusion to it in that nobody got hurt, nobody got injured," Everett Fire Chief David Butler said.

The owner of two of the gutted homes, who lives in Grafton, Mass., said he got a call about 3:30 a.m. about the fire. He arrived at dawn to find a disaster scene.

"It's like World War III, for crying out loud, all the cars are bombed. It looks like we're in Baghdad, not in Everett. But I'm glad everybody came out safe," Ziad Odeh said.

He said there were nine families in the two properties that were destroyed, and there were three or four residents living in each unit.

The maintenance man for the senior housing complex that was evacuated said he tried to help get residents out as quickly as possible.

"I saw the cars going up and I said just get everybody out of the building at this point. I ran out of the building with the fire extinguisher, but I couldn't get close enough to anybody," Tim Maloney said.

"I heard the popping, it woke me up. I looked out my window, I seen at least five cars on fire, bright orange. And then the alarms went off in the building and everybody just cleared out of the building," said Dan Savage, a resident of the senior housing complex.

"It was very scary watching the cars go up on fire like that," he said, adding that no one could use the elevators to evacuate the high-rise complex, but everyone left the building in an orderly fashion and there was no panic.

"I'd say there was at least 15 cars that were really burning. And popping, they were popping. I don't know if it was tires that were blowing, but they were completely gone, the cars," Savage said.

A Red Cross representative said blankets and food were being provided to the evacuees who were taking shelter in the armory.

One city worker said he thought at least a dozen families lost their homes. He said they would not be allowed to go back to their houses for the rest of the day to get their belongings.

"It's a tragic situation, especially with this weather and the holidays coming. This is just really a nightmare at this point," said Rick Milley, Everett's recreation director.

He said merchants had stepped forward to donate food and other goods to help out the evacuees, many of whom had young children with them.

Everett Mayor John Hanlon said the residents will likely need some assistance from the community, but it was too early to determine exact totals on what they have lost.

Relief funds have been established to help residents affected by the Everett explosion.

One has been set up as the Main Street Fire Relief Fund, c/o Eagle Bank, 466 Broadway, Everett, MA 02149.

The other has been set up by the American Red Cross at 800-564-1234. Contributors are asked to earmark money for the Everett Explosion.

The Whittier School was closed for the day and teachers were asked to report to the old Everett High School.

Local streets were shut down, but state police said they hoped to have all roads opened as soon as the scene was cleared and the safety of the roadway could be determined.

The accident occurred at the junction of Routes 16 and 99 at Sweetser Circle, an area that has seen similar serious accidents in the past.

"We did have a very similar incident to this one back 7 or 8 months ago, with an asphalt truck, almost in the exact same location. And I think that's something we may sit down with the state police and see if we can do something to alleviate the problem down here," Everett Fire Chief David Butler said.

"I think it's a miracle that we haven't see some serious injuries," Butler said, adding that there were still environmental concerns resulting from the crash.

"We have concerns about the gas that got into the storm drains," he said.

The U.S. Coast Guard was called to help and keep an eye out for any sign of leakage into nearby waterways. They said there was no sign of any fuel sheen, but they would take immediate action if they determined there was fuel runoff from the storm drains.

"We would take immediate measures to boom off the area," said Amy Thomas of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Booms were set up at three locations near the explosion scene: Island End River, Malden River and a brook that feeds into the Malden River, where a slight sheen was detected. No other areas of contamination were found, state environmental officials said.

They said hundreds of feet of drainage lines would be checked for any contamination and pumped if necessary. They said most contaminants were consumed by fire.

Murray said early inspections indicated there was no significant structural damage to the bridge or roadway where the explosion occurred.

Everett is a city of approximately 38,000 residents just north of Boston near Boston Harbor.