Dec 17, 2008 11:05 pm US/Eastern
1 Dead In Scituate House Explosion
4 Nearby Homes Condemned After Explosion
Scituate (WBZ) ―
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Brian P. Nanos/wickedlocalscituate.com
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Brian P. Nanos/wickedlocalscituate.com
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Brian P. Nanos/wickedlocalscituate.com
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Brian P. Nanos/wickedlocalscituate.com
A man is dead after a house at
27 Turner Rd. in Scituate exploded Wednesday afternoon, the State Fire Marshal's Office said.
The house that exploded was completely destroyed, and four nearby homes have been condemned, displacing up to 20 people. Three other homes were seriously damaged.
Officials said a man's body had been found in the rubble though his identity is unknown. The house's owner, Kimberly Chubbock, is a nurse at South Shore Hospital and was at work when the house exploded, WBZ-TV has learned. She told WBZ her roommate was not home at the time either, but she is concerned her boyfriend may have been.
She said her boyfriend left the house with her in the morning but that he may have come home sometime during the day.
BLAST FELT HALF MILE AWAY
Neighbors reported feeling the blast from up to a half mile away.
"It felt like a bomb had just gone off," one neighbor said. "It was really frightening. We came out of the house and everyone was out on the street to find out what was going on. You couldn't miss it. It was a big explosion of flames going up into the sky."
The blast caused a fire and damaged several surrounding homes. According to the Scituate Mariner, windows in homes one-third of a mile away were broken from the power of the blast.
Scituate Town Administrator Richard Agnew said he saw a dresser some 30 feet up in a tree.
"Numerous homes have structural damage, and a lot of windows and doors have been blown out," Agnew said. "All around the neighborhood there is debris for a half mile diameter. It's pretty bad. I've never seen (anything) that bad."
Ambulances were on scene and it appears that some neighbors may have suffered minor injuries from the blast.
SOURCE OF EXPLOSION UNDER INVESTIGATION
Gas has been turned off in the area of the explosion.
Officials with Bay State gas were called in to investigate. They got a call from the Scituate Fire Department around 2:30 p.m., shortly after the explosion.
Neighbors told WBZ gas work had been done in the neighborhood within the last week. It's unknown if that work had anything to do with the explosion. Investigators have not said what the source of the explosion was.
Some neighbors also reported smelling gas in the area.
The American Red Cross said all displaced residents have been helped out with temporary shelter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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