INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Police said the explosions and fires erupted in a cluster of towns north of Boston.Boston: Dozens of explosions, apparently triggered by a
natural gas pipeline rupture, rocked three communities near Boston on Thursday, killing at least one person, injuring 12 and prompting the
evacuation of hundreds, officials said.The blasts left dozens of homes and other buildings demolished or engulfed in flames as firefighters
from some 50 departments raced for hours from one blaze to another and utility crews rushed to shut off gas and electricity in the area to
prevent further ignitions.Police drove up and down streets with bull horns telling residents to vacate their homes immediately.Fire
investigators suspected "over-pressurization of a gas main" belonging to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts led to the series of explosions and
fires, Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield told a news conference.Columbia Gas, a unit of the utility giant NiSource Inc, announced earlier
on Thursday that it would be upgrading gas lines in neighborhoods across the state, including the area where the explosions occurred
However, it was not immediately known whether any work was being done in those communities at the time.Police drove up and down streets with
bullhorns telling residents to immediately vacate their homes
(Reuters)"Columbia Gas is investigating what happened on its system today," NiSource spokesman Ken Stammen said.The US Department of
Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said it was sending a team to support the state's emergency
response efforts.The former head of the agency, Brigham McCown, called the series of gas explosions "unprecedented, at least in recent
memory.""I can't think of a series of natural gas-related incidents like this," McCown, who led PHMSA under President George W
Bush, told Reuters by telephone
"We have had similar issues on a much smaller scale."He said the National Transportation Safety Board was also sending a team headed by its
chairman, Robert Sumwalt, to investigate the disaster.Live TV images showed firefighters battling blazes in the former mill towns of
Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, about 25 miles (40 km) north of the Massachusetts capital.The streets were darkened after nightfall
with power cut off to the area as a precaution.'Overwhelming Event'Lawrence General Hospital said on its Facebook page it treated 13 people
for injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to blast trauma
One of those patients, who was in critical condition, was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston
Officials told Reuters that patient later died.At least three people, including one firefighter, were hurt in Andover, the town said in a
statement, but it was unclear whether any of those individuals were among the patients treated in Lawrence, some of whom were later
released.The streets were darkened after nightfall as power was cut off to the area as a precaution
(Reuters)"This has been an overwhelming event," Mansfield told reporters, saying that fire companies responding to blazes were putting one
house fire out only to discover another house on fire as they finished their work
"This event is not over tonight
This event will probably go on."Massachusetts State Police said a total of 70 fires, explosions or investigations of gas odor had been
Some 50 fire departments responded to the emergency, said John McArdle, fire chief of Plaistow, New Hampshire, which sent a tower ladder and
engine crew to the scene.North Andover resident Laurie Williams, 55, said she drove home from work to find police and fire vehicles blocking
streets near her home and learned that three buildings nearby were on fire."It was very scary," Williams told Reuters by telephone, saying
she could see smoke on the skyline
"My first thought was this is a gas explosion."State police urged residents served by Columbia Gas to evacuate their homes
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said residents in the southern part of the city had been asked to leave their homes whether or not they were
Columbia Gas customers, due to planned power cuts.Gas utilities have come under heightened scrutiny in recent years for an aging network of
pipelines that critics say are not being properly inspected and maintained, posing a growing risk to public safety.Friday's conflagrations
came six years after Columbia Gas accepted blame for a gas explosion in Springfield, Massachusetts, that injured 17 people and caused an
estimated $1.3 million in property damageThat occurred when a Columbia Gas technician called to investigate a gas odor at a nightclub
accidentally punctured a line, the state Department of Public Utilities said in a report.© Thomson Reuters 2018
