2016 Portland gas explosion

A large natural gas explosion occurred in the Northwest District of Portland, Oregon, USA, at NW 23rd Avenue and NW Glisan Street on October 19, 2016. Nearby excavation caused a natural gas leak that triggered the explosion, which injured eight people and caused $17.2 million in property damages. The PUC (Oregon Public Utility Commission) determined the cause to be inadequate notification by the contractor, Loy Clark Pipeline. Thirteen buildings were damaged, including total destruction of the Alfred C.F. Burkhardt House, built in 1906 and listed on the NRHP (National Register of Historic Places).

2016 Portland gas explosion
A picture taken about 45 minutes after the explosion. The smoke plume could be seen from miles around.
DateOctober 19, 2016
Time9:38AM PST
LocationPortland, Oregon
Coordinates45.526371°N 122.698331°W / 45.526371; -122.698331
CauseNegligent excavation
Outcome1 building destroyed, 12 others damaged
Deaths0
Non-fatal injuries8
Property damage$17.2 million USD[1]

Timeline

The accident occurred while Loy Clark Pipeline was installing a junction box in a sidewalk for Comcast at NW 23rd Avenue and NW Glisan Street. At 8:55 a.m., an excavator called the local gas company NW Natural after he hit and dislodged a natural gas pipeline belonging to them. The pipe did not break, but was pulled out of a valve some distance away, causing leaking gas to travel under the sidewalk and fill the basement of 500 NW 23rd Avenue. NW Natural responded to fix the leak but decided to call the Portland Fire & Rescue because they found "dangerously high levels of natural gas". A limited number of firefighters (three engines and one truck) showed up and Battalion Chief Scott Beyers made the call to evacuate the businesses and residences near the intersection where the leak occurred.

Aftermath of the explosion.

500 NW 23rd Avenue ultimately exploded.[2][3] The blast occurred around 9:38 a.m. after reports of strong gas odor. Eight people were injured, including three firefighters and two police officers.[4][5] After the explosion, hundreds of firefighters, police officers and paramedics responded. Hospitals and emergency services went into "mass-casualty mode" and made worst-case preparations. The nearby Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center went without power in four of its buildings.[6] Some 2,500 customers lost electricity after the incident.[7] About 420 students at Metropolitan Learning Center, many of whom were in the process of taking their PSAT tests, were evacuated and transported to the Portland Public Schools headquarters as a precaution.[8]

Boarded up businesses after the explosion

Aftermath

In 2018, ten lawsuits were filed against Loy Clark Pipeline, the company responsible for the blast.[9][10] Loy Clark Pipeline was founded in 1957 and in 2016 was a part of Bismarck, North Dakota-based MDU Construction Services Group, Inc.[11][12] The Oregon Public Utility Commission concluded "Insufficient Notice to the Oregon Utility Notification Center by Loy Clark Pipeline Co." as the root cause.[2] KATU reported that Loy Clark Pipeline in five years leading up to the accident had six OSHA violations.[13] Asbestos was found in the debris two days after the explosion. The building had abatement work done in 1990, but it did not include the roofing, which contained 35% asbestos.[14]

Among the eight injured was a dental hygienist who was hit by glass shards. They filed a lawsuit for $689,000 against Loy Clark Pipeline.[1][15] The owners of the building at 520–526 NW 23rd Avenue also named Comcast and Bremik Construction in addition to Loy Clark Pipeline in their lawsuit for "not properly vetting Loy Clark before hiring the contractor."[16] For this incident, The Oregonian reported that OSHA fined Tualatin, Oregon-based Loy Clark Pipeline $4,900, and noted they dug on the north side of NW 23rd Avenue even though their notification was to dig on the south side.[17] The American Red Cross set up a shelter for people displaced by the explosion.[18]

In a press conference Portland Mayor Charlie Hales later stated that "It's a miracle no one was killed.".[19]

The Oregonian reported in December 2019 that two additional businesses, Portland Bagelworks and Dosha SalonSpa, had filed lawsuits.[20]

The destroyed Alfred C. F. Burkhardt House had been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2000.[21]

References
  1. "Woman injured in Portland explosion first to file lawsuit". The Oregonian, via Associated Press. April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2019.
  2. "Incident Investigation Report" (PDF). Oregon Public Utility Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  3. Slovic, Beth (October 25, 2016). "45 Minutes Stood Between Life and Death in the Portland Bagelworks Explosion". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  4. "Natural gas explosion rocks Portland neighborhood, injuring 8". Fox News. October 19, 2016.
  5. Stelloh, Tim; Walters, Shamar; Douglas, David (October 19, 2016). "Oregon Natural Gas Explosion Injures Eight, Destroys Building". NBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  6. "Explosion reported in NW Portland; 8 injured, including 3 firefighters". OregonLive. October 19, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  7. Staff, KATU com (2016-10-19). "Explosion reported after gas leak in NW Portland, smoke plumes seen for miles". KATU. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  8. Staff, KGW (October 20, 2016). "Portland firm says subcontractor hit gas line in NW Portland gas blast".
  9. "Woman injured in NW 23rd explosion first to file lawsuit". KGW. April 26, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  10. "10 lawsuits filed in aftermath of NW 23rd Ave. explosions". OregonLive. October 31, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  11. "About Loy Clark Construction - Located in Tualatin, Oregon". Loy Clark Construction. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  12. "MDU Construction Services Group". www.mducsg.com. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  13. Douglass, Joe (October 20, 2016). "Subcontractor that dug into gas line before explosion had six OSHA citations in five years". KATU. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  14. Steele, Tim (2016-10-21). "DEQ: Asbestos found in NW Portland explosion debris". KOIN. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  15. Flaccus, Gillian (October 19, 2016). "Gas explosion rocks Portland shopping district, injuring 8". Associated Press. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  16. Bell, Jon (Oct 19, 2018). "Moonstruck Chocolate among the latest to sue after gas explosion in NW Portland". www.bizjournals.com. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  17. Brettman, Allan (2017-04-07). "NW 23rd blast: Oregon agency fines Loy Clark Pipeline $4,900". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  18. "Timely evacuations prevented deaths as massive gas explosion rocks Northwest Portland". Portland Tribune. October 19, 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  19. "Portland Gas Explosion: 'It's a Miracle No One Was Killed'". Portland, OR Patch. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  20. Oregonian/OregonLive, Jayati Ramakrishnan | The (2019-12-07). "Portland bagel shop owners sue pipeline company over 2016 explosion that destroyed business". oregonlive. Retrieved 2019-12-23.
  21. Acker, Lizzy (October 19, 2016). "Explosion destroys 110-year-old building in Northwest Portland". Retrieved April 21, 2019. The Alfred C. F. Burkhardt House, which stands at 500-510 N.W. 23rd Ave., was placed on the National Register of Historic Place in 2000
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