Middletown Fire/Explosion/MCI Addl. Info 2-7-10

[SageVigiles 1,194]

I'm sure Izzy has his hands full, so I'll post some additional info. Got some of this from CTFire-EMS.com

State Police Headquarters in Meriden was asking on the Hot Line what blew up, they felt/heard it and didn't know what was going on. Felt as far away as Killingworth and Cheshire from what I'm hearing.

At this time ALL on duty companies from all 3 Middletown departments are on scene and working, numerous callbacks going on.

MCI has been declared. ALL available Hunters Ambulance Units requested. BOTH Lifestar birds requested as well as AMR units (likely out of Hartford.) Initial reports of about 100 victims with various levels of injuries, 4 critical and 2 DOS as of noon. Berlin MCI unit requested as well.

Gas lines have been shut down and excess is being burned off. Command forbidding entry until gas is burned off.

AMR Hartford sending TWENTY ONE (21) ambulances and making callbacks.

Report that USAR CT TF-1 being called.

Confirmed Operating Departments:

Middletown FD

Middletown South District FD

Westfield FD

Durham FD

Portland FD

Haddam FD

Colchester FD

Meriden FD (Coverage)

Berlin FD (MCI Unit)

Hunters Ambulance

American Medical Response

Middletown PD

CT State Police

Lifestar (Both helicopters)

Task force 51 (Wethersfield, Cromwell, Newington FDs) covering calls in Middletown

Task force 57 (South Windsor, Glastonbury, Manchester Fire/Rescue, Manchester 8th Dist., Marlborough, and Colchester)

UPDATE: Command reports FIRE under control ATT

FD Search crews being pulled out, USAR team going to work.

Now getting a report of CT National Guard being deployed to the scene.

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

Heard it Southbury about 35 miles away. WTNH is live with long distance video feed, still smoking. I fear that this may be a disaster.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Just got back. I didn't get activated to the scene but I took a ride up to Portland directly across the CT River from the plant and had a good view of the building. I got there after the fire was placed under control. The building according to the residents there was totally enclosed, after the explosion the roof was gone and the side walls were heavily damaged. A friend of mine who lives in Haddam (the next town south from Middletown) thought her house came off her foundation it was so powerful. My sister and brother in-law live in Hamden and felt it as well as reports of hearing the explosion and feeling the "blast" as far out as New London, Colchester, Rocky Hill and East Haven.

There is still a number of "unconfirmed" reports about how many people were hurt and/or missing. CT's USAR team is there as well as hundreds of firefighters through the Capital Region "Task Force" response system.

Coverage on the following sites: http://www.wtnh.com, http://www.nbc30.com, http://www.FOX61.com, http://WWW.NECN.com, http://www.wfsb3.com

Also to add to Sage's response list, Connecticut Valley Hospital's FD, located on top of the hill from the plant was there, Cromwell Fire, Portland Fire were on scene and also providing coverage in Middletown. Wallingford and Meriden FDs had units to the scene.

Please keep in mind the families of those who were hurt in this tragedy.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Also during the incident, both Lifestar choppers were in the air and at the scene. Atlantic Air 1 was requested to Derby for a critical special needs child patient for transport to CCMC.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Izzy, I was on the other side of the river by the media (incident side) and Outer Command Post (there was an inner post and an outer one) The outer post was on the ending of the Connecticut Valley Hospital Campus. I got some shots of other units that showed up, I'll place them on here in a bit, listing the additions below:

CT Valley Hospital Fire Department (State of Connecticut)

US Coast Guard

FEMA

CT Incident Management Team 3

Governor of the State of CT Jodi Rell

Dept. of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) PD

Clinton Fire Department Chaplain

Lions Club (Canteen trailer)

CT Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security

CT State Police Units:

Patrol

Aviation (Trooper 1 and a Fixed Wing aircraft)

K9 (SAR dogs)

PIO Lt. Paul Vance

Major Crime Squad (Central District)

State Fire Marshal

Governor's Protection Detail

The "Outer CP" was what seemed (based on the flight patterns of the helicopters and planes) to be about a mile from the incident. The plant itself is very isolated down a road which was well controlled by Middletown and DMHAS Police. The media, as well as members of the Union that represents the company (I believe its an O&G site) were there near the Outer CP. Middletown FD's PIO was there as well.

Interesting tidbit, this is the third "full activation" of the CT USAR Task Force

[NWFDMedic 58]

I was in Bristol for the weekend and driving home when I heard/felt the explosion from the area of CT-8 and I-84. I had no idea what it was and didn't really pay it any mind. The one down side of satellite radio is you don't know what's going on around you. Good luck to all those operating up there.

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

Reporting at least 5 dead 12 injured

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/07/connecticut.explosion/index.html?hpt=T1

[WAS967 97]

Prayers for all those effected.

Izzy: Just curious why they called Atlantic Air all the way over from Jersey and not one of the StatFlight birds?

[SageVigiles 1,194]

WAS, thats what I was wondering too.

Some of the audio from the incident is on youtube, links posted below.

http://www.youtube.com/user/firefighterdispatch#p/a/u/0/CT_PLfT_SI4

Another update:

Governor Rell requested a no-fly zone for a 3 mile radius and 3,000 ft. elevation for 24 hours and the request was granted by the FAA.

In addition, the CT Emergency Operations Center in Hartford has been activated and the state DMAT Team with its mobile field hospital was also on scene.

ATF is assisting the CT State Fire Marshal's Office in its investigation today.

At this time there are at least 5 confirmed dead. Among those killed is former Old Saybrook Police Commissioner Raymond Dobratz, who worked as a pipefitter in the plant.

[Monty 35]

Saw this on the ctfire-ems board. Obviously too early to say that this was the cause of the incident - but regardless good information. Especially for anyone involved directly with purging of gas lines:

CSB Deploying Investigation Team to Fatal Explosion at Kleen

Energy Power Plant in Middletown, CT

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) is deploying a seven-person team to the site of a fatal explosion at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown, Connecticut. The team is expected on site midday on Monday, February 8. According to media reports, the explosion at approximately 11:30 a.m. resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries and caused off-site damage. CSB lead investigator Don Holmstrom said, "The CSB's investigative team will examine the activities that were ongoing at the time of this accident, including any gas purging, as indicated by initial media reports. At a public meeting on Thursday, February 4, the CSB issued urgent recommendation that the national fuel gas codes be changed to improve safety when gas pipes are being purged - cleared of air - during maintenance or the installation of new piping. The Board's urgent recommendations resulted from the CSB's ongoing federal investigation into the June 9, 2009, natural gas explosion at the ConAgra Slim Jim production facility in Garner, North Carolina, which caused four deaths, three critical life-threatening burn injuries, and other injuries that sent a total of 67 people to the hospital.

The CSB issued a safety bulletin on gas purging in October 2009, because of the occurrence of multiple serious accidents during purging operations. Key safety lessons described in the bulletin included purging gases to a safe location outdoors away from ignition sources, evacuating non-essential workers during purging, using combustible gas monitors to detect any hazardous gas accumulations, and effective training for personnel involved in purging, Mr. Holmstrom leads the CSB's Western Regional Office located in Denver, Colorado, and led the agency's investigation into the 2009 purging accident at the ConAgra facility in Garner, North Carolina. The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating serious chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems. The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit our website, www.csb.gov

[IzzyEng4 427]

Prayers for all those effected.

Izzy: Just curious why they called Atlantic Air all the way over from Jersey and not one of the StatFlight birds?

WAS, I did listen to New Haven C-MED and said to Derby EMS they couldn't get a bird out of Westchester County, it was unavailable, they didn't go into great detail why. Maybe they were on standby for Middletown but I can't confirm that since that area is covered by KX (Colchester) C-MED control. Also I was hearing that Boston Med Flight was on standby (both Worcester and Boston) birds for the incident in Middletown. If I hear anything more I will let you know.

Also the child patient in Derby is high risk and requires to go to CCMC for his condition so ground transport from Derby to Hartford is out of the question. (I can't go into great detail do to patient confidentiality and I'm familiar with this child since I used to work for New Haven C-MED).

[IzzyEng4 427]

Also reports through the local area are stating search and rescue began this morning. They fear there are still more people under the wreckage.