Responders deserve thanks
The dozens of explosions that rocked the Merrimack Valley on Thursday were horrifying events and we need to prevent such a nightmare from happening again. We can take solace, however, in the fact that our first responders rose to the challenge brilliantly.
Dozens of suspected gas explosions that leveled some houses and set others ablaze killed one person and forced thousands to evacuate in a miles-wide swath of Lawrence, North Andover and Andover — then left police with a massive area to secure as power cuts threw the area into darkness.
Tragically, Leonel Robson, 18, of Lawrence was pronounced dead Thursday night at Massachusetts General Hospital. Robson was in a vehicle outside a home on Chickering Road when a chimney from a house explosion fell on his car.
It was a wild day on the streets of the three towns affected, but first responders were on top of the situation immediately. The head of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency says firefighters responded to 60 to 80 structure fires. Firefighters in Lawrence, North Andover and Andover responded to about 150 emergency calls Thursday.
About 400 people spent the night in emergency shelters and no additional natural gas-related emergencies had been reported yesterday.
“It looked like Armageddon,” said Andover fire Chief Michael Mansfield. “There were billows of smoke coming from Lawrence behind me and I could see plumes of smoke in front of me within the town of Andover. It just looked like a war zone.”
Gov. Charlie Baker said hundreds of natural gas technicians have been deployed throughout the area to go house by house to ensure they are safe.
Columbia Gas serves the area and we are eager to hear its explanation for the event. Obviously it will be investigated by local, state and federal authorities and the situation must be remedied immediately and preventative measures must be taken in every city and town in the commonwealth so a similar situation never occurs.
The quick action by first responders is to be commended. They were out in force, racing to scene after scene while providing the general public with guidance. Utility crews and town workers also worked tirelessly.
It is obvious that our police and firefighters have been welltrained for events such as this, and we are very appreciative.