Over 50 structural fires, explosions in Massachusetts after gas main break - Sensationalist Headlines

Emergency crews responding to multiple fires following explosion.. LAWRENCE (CBS) – Several fires are burning in the Lawrence area after a reported issue with a high pressure gas main. Massachusetts State Police and the Fire Marshal’s office says they are responding to multiple suspected gas explosions and fires in Lawrence, North Andover and Andover. This is a potential major disaster unfolding. There are currently over 50 reported fires spread throughout four cities and towns in Massachusetts, with reports of explosions in certain neighborhoods. The roads in every direction are shut down with emergency services being called in from all of central New England after a Columbia Gas gas main spiked in pressure. The mayor of the city of Lawrence is currently ordering all citizens to shut off their gas lines and evacuate as Columbia Gas has not yet been able to shut off the supply to the damaged main. This is an active and incredibly dangerous situation developing - no injuries have been reported but the fires have been constantly spreading and popping up all over the place, with fire departments currently unable to keep up with each new report. All municipal buildings have been evacuated, including schools, offices, and public works buildings. State police have been mobilized to handle the emergency response as well as to start relocating evacuated individuals to a safe place. Will try to keep this thread updated as information comes out https://twitter.com/boston25/status/1040346881598083072 https://twitter.com/WFXTMalini/status/1040346715654635527 https://twitter.com/AssignGuy/status/1040344033099493383

Holy shit, that is absolutely nuts. Lets hope things can get under control soon.

Update: The fires have spread into an adjoining town. https://twitter.com/MaryWCVB/status/1040354167154458624

Holy fuck

They don't even know the extent of how many structures are at risk. They can't even shut the fucking gas off at the hub apparently. Nobody has any idea where the next explosion or fire is going to break out.

damn folks.......

Holy shit, that's horrifying.

Update: After nearly three hours, Columbia Gas is finally in the beginning stages of depressurizing the gas main. All Columbia Gas recipients are still being advised to evacuate at this time. https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1040362001644625922

Good lord, how does this even happen? The gas in the pressurized main get ignited somehow?

They're saying it's overpressurization of the gas main leading to widespread failure of household equipment

My heart stopped when I saw it was Andover, but my Andover is in a different state

Is supply in the US not governed at the meter point, or is it just a case of the governor failing open? Either way, holy fuck. It's horrifying - like thousands of gas leaks springing all at once.

well i mean, think about a surge of electricity - voltage is regulated only to a certain point. if something fails or a rare situation develops, anything not protected will still get zapped in your house. my understanding is that it's very similar in terms of gas - household meters and pipes were not designed, intended, or built to withstand the pressure at which the gas was delivered from the main line. either it blew at the meter, or blew in the piping inside the walls. that's why it's such a massive issue right now - they have no idea how to determine which houses have been damaged unless they also caught on fire or exploded

Yeah, surprisingly considering I sling several of them onto houses every day I have very little understanding about the inside of a gas regulator. I have a feeling it probably fails open, however, as we do have to check the standing pressure after the reg locks up to ensure it's not faulty. So assuming the supply pressure was higher than the maximum allowed for a low pressure domestic supply, yeah, things are going to go really awry. I'm surprised, mainly, that the high pressure main wasn't equipped with some sort of PRV equipment, even if it blew off into big safety tanks or something to that effect. Much like an airliner's wing falling off, the level of danger if this failure occurs means that it should be designed so it cannot happen.

This is horrible. I hope nobody was hurt.

Seems like somebody's going to lose their jobs (and possibly face a class action suit)

obviously details will emerge over time but it sounds like a colossal maintenance fuckup of epic proportions. there ARE failsafes for this kind of thing and none of them worked today.

i hope this was just an accident

This company is going to go under with how much they're liable for in property damage alone right now.

The unfortunate reality is that if this happens, the government will likely bail them out.

More like whatever the primary homeowner's insurance company in the area is going to go take a major fucking beating. Gas and electric companies have a shitload of protection and stipulations behind using their services, despite you being required to do so. Short of deliberate sabotage, nothing can really touch them.

This is the kind of wild scenario that people conjure up when they think about having mains gas brought to the area I live (Australia, there's no such thing as mains gas where I am, strictly bottled only). You NEVER think that this kind of thing could actually happen but pickle me grandmother, just look at those photos. In the most respectful and awful way possible, this is an incredible failure. I really hope this damage doesn't spread any further... Why can't they shut it off at the hub??? Is it because there's some kind of risk of damage then occurring prior to that point, which could ignite even greater supplies of gas? I have no idea how mains gas works sorry. Those poor poor people