Fiery explosions erupt at dozens of homes

A series of fiery explosions erupted at dozens of homes in northern Massachusetts on Thursday evening, injuring at least six people, forcing neighborhoods in three towns to be evacuated and power to be shut down for tens of thousands of residents.

Episodes were reported across a “wide swath of dozens of blocks across Lawrence and North Andover,” according to the Massachusetts State Police, and evacuations were underway in “neighborhoods where there are gas odors.” They added it was too early to speculate about a cause.

Police said firefighters responded to 70 reported fires, explosions or investigations of a gas odor. There were no immediate reports from the police on casualties, though Lawrence General Hospital said it was treating six patients for injuries related to the explosion, two of whom were in critical condition.

A National Grid spokeswoman said the company had been requested to shut off electrical power completely in Lawrence and North Andover, as well as in pockets of Andover. The total population of the towns is about 146,000 people.

Photographs and videos from Lawrence showed several housing complexes bursting with flames and thick smoke billowing as firefighters rushed to the scenes.

“What we know is that there have been multiple explosions, multiple fires that are happening across the city,” Mayor Dan Rivera of Lawrence told WBZ-TV. “What we need folks to do is that if it’s happening in your home, you have a funny smell, just evacuate, come out to the street.”

The Massachusetts State Police said on Twitter that “residents in the affected towns of Lawrence/ North Andover/Andover who have gas service from Columbia Gas should evacuate their homes immediately if they have not already done so. Gas lines are currently being depressurized by the company it will take some time.”

Some exits on Interstates 495 and 93 were shut down, but ramps onto the highways remained open to allow for evacuations, police said.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts had announced earlier Thursday that it was “upgrading natural gas lines in neighborhoods across the state,” with work set to begin next week. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.

“We’re very concerned,” said Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., who landed in Boston on Thursday night and made her way back to her district. “We want to be sure that people are safe and that the gas company resolves the situation as quickly as possible.”