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Blast rocks Danversport, no fatalities reported
Blast rocks Danversport, no fatalities reported
The Salem News
DANVERS, Mass. (AP) -- An explosion at a chemical plant that was felt several miles away sparked a massive fire in Danvers, destroyed area homes and businesses, caused minor injuries and forced evacuations, officials said.
The explosion took place at CAI Inc. just before 3 a.m., Danvers Fire Chief James P. Tutko said.
Firefighters from several area towns responded.
About 10 people were injured, but none were life threatening, Tutko said.
Philip Cormier, the chief operating officer of Beverly Hospital, said the hospital treated "fewer than 10 patients."
"With the exception of chest pains, we don't have anybody who's seriously injured," he said.
Fred Grenier, 25, was asleep in a rear, second-floor bedroom with his girlfriend, Trisha Lynch, 22, about 200 yards from CAI Inc. when the explosion woke him up.
"The windows came caving in. The AC fell right on me," he said.
His girlfriend's sister, Jennifer Lynch, was asleep in a bedroom that faced the plant and needed stitches for cuts on her face, Grenier said.
"There were windows gone, doors gone, vinyl siding off the houses," Grenier said, describing the scene when he went outside.
Electricity was knocked out. "Everyone was out in the street making sure everybody's all right," he said. "When you went out on the front porch, you could feel the heat."
The fire had been contained by 6 a.m. and firefighters planned on letting the fire burn itself out, Tutko said. He said there was no risk of toxic fumes escaping into the air but some of the homes in the area are unlivable.
It was too early to speculate on the cause, he said, adding that he heard and felt the explosion at his home five miles away and thought it was thunder.
CAI Inc. makes solvents and inks.
State Police Maj. Kevin Kelly, who responded to the scene, said he felt the explosion at his home 21 miles away.
One witness told the AP that the explosion broke a window in his home and knocked some frames off the walls. He said when he looked out his window the "whole sky was flaming," and his first thought was that a plane had crashed.
Other neighbors told WBZ-AM radio that they thought there had been an earthquake, and one compared the scene to footage of the Blitz in London during World War II. One resident said the explosion knocked him out of his chair.
Buildings were silhouetted in orange flames and smoke and police are barring anyone from approaching the area, including people who have relatives who live near the facility.
People who live near the area, including residents of a facility for the deaf and a nursing home, were being evacuated to local schools.
Danvers canceled school for the day and area roads remained closed.
There is an Eastern Propane facility close to the CAI facility, but that was not the cause of the explosion, said company spokesman Jeff Taylor. He said all the company's tanks are secure, although the property suffered some minor damage.
http://www.salemnews.com/homepage/lo...picturestor y
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...1/detail.html#
this happened less then 2 miles away from me and shook my entire fucking house, and set off car alarms on my street, my frist thoughts were either, terrorist attack on our power plant, plane crash, or a gas station exploding.
fucking SCARY, woke my ass RIGHT up.
fucking crazy, i stepped outside and had a perfect view of the giant cloud and a red glow under it, i wish i had a camera
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