General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIf not for the Hurricane, this would be the major news story of the day.
Officials said they didn't know when affected residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover could return to their homes.
by Tim Stelloh and Tom Winter / Sep.13.2018 / 7:05 PM ET / Updated Sep.14.2018 / 8:31 AM ET
A teenager was killed in a series of gas explosions that set off dozens of house fires in three Boston suburbs, and officials told affected residents early Friday morning that they could be out of their homes indefinitely.
Leonel Robson, 18, of Lawrence, Mass., was pronounced dead at Massachusetts General Hospital at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, after a chimney from a house explosion in Lawrence fell on the car he was in, the Essex County District Attorney's office said.
His was the only fatality in the gas explosions, which resulted in power cut to more than 8,000 homes in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, Mass.
Another 25 people were hospitalized, most with minor injuries, officials said.
As many as 80 homes were burned or damaged, and there were three separate explosions, officials said.
More>>>>>
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nearly-40-fires-explosions-erupt-massachusetts-n909446
80 homes destroyed, thousands evacuated from their homes, no one knows what caused the explosions. Normally news organizations would be covering this wall to wall interviewing residents, gov't officials and others. But they're all in the Carolinas.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)Fla Dem
(23,723 posts)Like Ari Velshi, but had enough of him standing on the beach repeating the same thing over and over.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)however a whole lot of resources have been deployed by the networks to cover the hurricane and hence they have to get some return on the investments made.
House of Roberts
(5,179 posts)I'm NOT buying didley-squat from Wayfair, EVER. They got nothin' I need.
Barbchris
(2 posts)Wayfair lost my business because they use a doorbell in their ads. My dogs go crazy and run to
the door every time! How do they not know this?
gopiscrap
(23,763 posts)PatSeg
(47,560 posts)from my daughter-in-law, but I didn't see anything on MSNBC until after 9:00. This was a big story, but apparently cable news can only handle one or two at a time.
riversedge
(70,270 posts)tymorial
(3,433 posts)I can't imagine the parents and family of that 18 year old boy who died not to mention the rest injured. Lawrence is completely blocked off and no one is allowed in. People will not be able to get into their homes for at least a week and a half according to the press conference i watched earlier. The local news reporters were saying that people were just walking around because they didn't know where to go or what to do. So awful.
riversedge
(70,270 posts)They evacuated the school--public and Catholic to another town next door---and the Assisted Living home etc. And all the people. But we were allowed in later that day. I had to take mom--93 years old--hard to navigate with her. Freaky--seems some hit a gas line. But never had to evacuate the whole town before. No one hurt, thank the heavens. there was a lot of grumbling about how the fire dept had over-reacted--but then this freaking MA thing happens. Maybe the grumbling will start.
mountain grammy
(26,642 posts)PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,873 posts)bluescribbler
(2,120 posts)n/t
elmac
(4,642 posts)its all about the entertainment value, profits, eyes on the shiny objects. News for the sake of news died decades ago.
mountain grammy
(26,642 posts)Is there anyone left in any of these agencies?
radical noodle
(8,010 posts)this story doesn't have a chance.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Sadly, possibly yes.
But do a bunch of boom-booms and a tragic death really warrant top national attention? This story is new, noisy and in the MSM's back yard, and it bleeds! All the elements to lead. But only briefly. Puerto Rico made it back long enough to provide mud to throw at Trump but is mostly gone again. Wildfires are still raging out west... What wild-, oh really? Still?
National ADHD? Too much to care about, too little time?
Chalco
(1,308 posts)The pattern in the photo doesn't make sense. I hope there
was no criminal activity involved. Negligence by the gas
company is enough.
eppur_se_muova
(36,280 posts)possibly something more explosive than NG itself, such as hydrogen or acetylene.
On reflection, contamination by H2 seems a good candidate. Nothing in the world leaks as easily as H2, and it can diffuse through glass and some metals. Regular NG connections and valves would leak badly, and the explosive limits of H2/air mixtures are pretty broad.
flibbitygiblets
(7,220 posts)and mass texts advising everyone to get out of their homes immediately until the lines were depressurized.
Totally agree, especially since Florence is Cat 1 now, maybe news outlets could perhaps cover the dozens of people whose houses are literally exploding? Nope, they've already deployed their reporters to stand around in the rain and tell us over and over what we already know.
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)iluvtennis
(19,868 posts)events...I'm tired of the wall to wall coverage of the hurricane. Yes, I want updates on what's happening with Hurricane Florence, but I don't want them 24/7. The media loves to exploit stuff.
The Conductor
(180 posts)Gas companies distribute to homes at a pretty low pressure - as low as 1/4 psi for home use, though generally a bit higher. For comparison, water pressure is around 60 pounds here, even in a far out suburb. If the high pressure gas line at 1,500 PSI was accidentally connected to the home supplies, it would likely cause the exact effects seen - blowing out every appliance everywhere on the line with the same effect as if you put that 1,500 psi into a balloon.
That should never happen, of course, and you'd think there'd be protections against it, but it does not seem any emergency blowout was in place.
eppur_se_muova
(36,280 posts)eppur_se_muova
(36,280 posts)Of course, she lives in (western) MA, so she might be more interested than most journos.