A neighborhood was evacuated and more than 100 homes had gas service shut off Tuesday afternoon, after a natural gas explosion on Sweetbriar Lane.
Bay State Gas Company trucks got a police escort to Sweetbriar Lane so workers could shut off and repair the underground high-pressure gas main. The line ruptured around noon on Jan. 26, leaving a gaping hole six feet deep in the middle of the roadway.
"It was really, really lucky that no one was driving (over that area). It was lucky, that could have been really devastating," said Courtney Casper, who was at 5 Sweetbriar, at the home of friend Anna Vecchi, when the explosion happened.
Courtney, Anna, Ben Cook and Rachel Correra were at the Vecchi home that morning, about to leave to take afternoon final exams at Andover High School.
"It sounded like a bomb exploded, and it looked like a geyser," said Anna, an AHS junior. "We were all in shock, we had no idea what was going on. We were supposed to be studying for anatomy, but we didn't really get to do that."
Courtney called the police on her cell phone, once the teens realized the explosion smelled like natural gas.
"At first we didn't know what it was, so we all went outside and walked up pretty close to it. There was tons of debris flying up through the hole. It really did some damage," said Courtney.
Police arrived within minutes, and soon evacuated the neighborhood. The three teens were unharmed, said Casper, although the gas fumes made them a little light-headed and one of them was hit by a small rock. They made it to AHS on time and were able to take their finals.
"It was on our minds," said Casper. "People are driving up and down that street all day long. We kept saying 'What if we had left earlier, and we were driving when it happened?'"
Before Bay State Gas Company arrived to shut off the main, the natural gas venting from the six-inch pipe sounded "like the roar of a jet engine," said Andover Police Lt. Commander James Hashem. Police went door-to-door telling residents in a dozen homes to evacuate.
"[We said,] don't touch anything, just go," said Hashem. "There can be an ignition source anywhere."
No one was injured in the incident, and gas service was restored to homes after 6 p.m.
"It was the best of a bad situation," he said.
Through the afternoon, Sweetbriar Lane remained closed. Chunks of asphalt and dirt lay scattered around the street, blown several feet from the hole. A slight smell of natural gas still lingered at 2 p.m. Marked police cruisers and sport utility vehicles and Bay State Gas trucks lined Sweetbriar and Wild Rose Drive. Two fire trucks had unrolled hoses into the street, ready in case of a fire.
Sweetbriar is a short residential street off Wild Rose Drive, lined with mid-sized ranch-style homes. It is behind the Korean United Methodist Church on Route 133.
Typically, gas mains can rupture when they are disturbed by digging or construction, but there was none in the area on Tuesday, said Hashem.
"It's very unusual for this to happen," he said.
Members of the Red Cross were on the scene Tuesday afternoon, making sure all the evacuees had a safe place to go, prepared to set up a shelter if overnight accommodations were needed.
As service was restored to homes, gas company personnel went inside each home, checking each gas appliance to make sure it was working safely, said Bay State Gas spokeswoman Sheila Doiron.
"(Gas main ruptures) are rare, clearly not a common occurrence. But when it happens, we're equipped to handle it," said Doiron.
"I'm just relieved that it's over, we're safe, and that no one got hurt," said Anna, after returning home with her family around 6 p.m. Tuesday. "It's one heck of a story to tell."
Details
The police scanner had the harrowing details of the gas-main rupture which was first reported as "an exploding manhole cover" by safety officials arriving at the scene. The explosion happened around noon on Tuesday, Jan. 26, in front of 2 Sweetbriar Lane. That home is owned by Herbert and Ruth Muller, according to town records.
Police reported that "you could smell" the gas as they waited for Bay State Gas to arrive on the scene.
Wild Rose Drive, accessible from Route 133 (Lowell Street) and Lovejoy Road, was shut down on both ends for several hours Tuesday afternoon.
Police were told by Bay State Gas officials not to let anyone come within 150 yards of the manhole cover. By 12:10 p.m., a command post had been established and police officers began knocking on doors to begin the evacuation.
Residents living as far away as Shawsheen Road and downtown Andover called police reporting the smell of gas.
By 1 p.m., the smell had dissipated as gas was shut off in the area.
