State, feds hunt for gas blast cause in Massachusetts

VivaRevolution

Banned
Banned
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
34,002
Reaction score
0
Everyone wants answers: State, feds hunt for gas
blast cause


LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — Investigators worked Friday to pinpoint the cause of a series of fiery natural gas explosions that killed a teen driver in his car just hours after he got his license, injured at least 25 others and left dozens of homes in smoldering ruins.

Authorities said an estimated 8,000 people were displaced at the height of Thursday’s post-explosion chaos in three towns north of Boston rocked by the disaster. Most were still waiting, shaken and exhausted, to be allowed to return to their homes.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that hundreds of gas technicians were being deployed throughout the night and into Saturday to make sure each home is safe to enter.

Even after residents return and their electricity is restored, gas service won’t be turned on until technicians can inspect every connection in each home — a process that could take weeks.

“This remains a tremendous inconvenience for many people,” Baker said. “It’s essential for the crews to get this right.”


The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to help investigate the blasts in a state where some of the aging gas pipeline system dates to the 1860s.

The rapid-fire series of gas explosions that one official described as “Armageddon” ignited fires in 60 to 80 homes in the working-class towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, forcing entire neighborhoods to evacuate as crews scrambled to fight the flames and shut off the gas and electricity.

Gas and electricity remained shut down Friday in most of the area, and entire neighborhoods were eerily deserted.

Authorities said Leonel Rondon, 18, of Lawrence, died after a chimney toppled by an exploding house crashed into his car. He was rushed to a Boston hospital and pronounced dead Thursday evening.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bo...swers-state-feds-hunt-for-gas-blast-cause/amp

______________________________________________________

So, shouldn't whoever runs this gas company be up on charges already?

I don't know if it is public or privately held, but it seems to me that this gas company is guilty of manslaughter at best, and guilty of a terror attack at worst.

What do you guys want to bet that any senoir official from this gas company will be held criminally liable here?

My guess is about 0-2% chance that the person that was actually responsible for this disaster will be held to account.

This is why our country is in a perpetual tail spin. No one with power is ever held accountable for anything. These people know they can make decisions to save dollars, that cost lives, and they will get away with it.

Discuss......
 
Gas lines that were put down during the Civil War malfunctioned?
 
Could easily be an accident and not incompetence.
Let the investigation find what it finds

A familiar refrain
 
Could easily be an accident and not incompetence.
Let the investigation find what it finds

A familiar refrain

Sorry, but I don't buy that.

I would bet my last dollar that if you start putting microphones in front of the workers faces, that actually maintain these pipelines, you will find that they had been sounding alarms for years, while being told to shut up.
 
I'm not sure how you would go about bringing charges here. It would have to be proven that someone knew about the potential for a problem and did nothing to prevent it. Utility companies need to be forced to update their infrastructure. If they are still using pipeline from the 1800s that is bullshit.
 
I'm not sure how you would go about bringing charges here. It would have to be proven that someone knew about the potential for a problem and did nothing to prevent it. Utility companies need to be forced to update their infrastructure. If they are still using pipeline from the 1800s that is bullshit.

Here is the thing. I don't believe for one second that these pipelines aren't regularly inspectioned, and that no one sounded the alarms. This wasn't some small failure. This was a massive failure.

Just like the oil spill in the gulf, it won't matter if it is completely documented that workers did raise the flag, and were ignored by the highest levels of the company.
 
Sorry, but I don't buy that.

I would bet my last dollar that if you start putting microphones in front of the workers faces, that actually maintain these pipelines, you will find that they had been sounding alarms for years, while being told to shut up.
You must be basing that on something.
What?
 
Here is the thing. I don't believe for one second that these pipelines aren't regularly inspectioned, and that no one sounded the alarms. This wasn't some small failure. This was a massive failure.

Just like the oil spill in the gulf, it won't matter if it is completely documented that workers did raise the flag, and were ignored by the highest levels of the company.

If problem were reported and ignored than sure bring charges. We don't know the cause yet, and it has not been reported that they knew. If the problem is one they knew about and ignored, and it all can be proven then i absolutely think the person/people in charge should go to jail, its just that is going to be hard to all prove IMO.
 
If problem were reported and ignored than sure bring charges. We don't know the cause yet, and it has not been reported that they knew. If the problem is one they knew about and ignored, and it all can be proven then i absolutely think the person/people in charge should go to jail, its just that is going to be hard to all prove IMO.

Fair enough.

I still think it is a safe bet to assume so.
 
I don't see how utility companies not being forced to update their infrastructure has anything to do with lib or rep citizens, but ok.
My main point was that the residents of Lawrence most likely can't afford the upgrade.
 
My main point was that the residents of Lawrence most likely can't afford the upgrade.

Ok, the burden is in the utility company. This is probably going to cost them more in lawsuits than fixing the infrastructure to start with. It was in their own best interests to prevent stuff like this from happening.
 
Ok, the burden is in the utility company. This is probably going to cost them more in lawsuits than fixing the infrastructure to start with. It was in their own best interests to prevent stuff like this from happening.
Businesses don't take on burdens, they pursue profit. This means the customer pays all the costs involved plus the profit. Lawrence most likely cannot afford a brand new pipeline.
 
My experience in industrial work environments.

We have 80 years of worker safety, and industrial safety regulation in place. If we didnt, this stuff would happen all the time.
But accidents do happen that aren't anyone's fault specifically...
 
Back
Top