The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has issued civil penalties of $150,000 each to Eversource and one of its contractors for violations that led to a Nov. 4, 2023, gas explosion and fire at 126 Prince St. in Needham.
A DPU investigation concluded that a crew from R.J. Devereaux Corp. was working off faulty information on the property’s service card during a service replacement project when its excavation equipment struck an active service line at approximately 7:45 a.m. No one was home at the time.
This caused gas to be released into the basement of the Prince Street property. Six minutes later the gas ignited. The explosion and subsequent fire so weakened the home’s structure that it was required to be demolished that same day for public safety reasons.
In a July 2024 “Notice of Probable Violation” sent to Eversource, the DPU’s summary of findings noted:
- Devereaux, acting on behalf of Eversource, failed to accurately mark out the service line prior to the incident.
- Eversource, when notified that the service card was inaccurate, failed to correct the maps and records of the service.
- Devereaux used mechanical means to excavate without visual confirmation of the service and tolerance zone.
- Eversource failed to ensure that Devereaux properly calibrated the electronic markout equipment after Oct. 24, 2023.
In its conclusions, DPU found “the combination of incomplete markouts, inaccurate records, and a failure to comply with relevant procedures contributed to the Devereaux crew striking the active service and the resulting home explosion. The Division also concludes Eversource violated federal pipeline safety regulations, and state damage prevention laws and regulations.”
Eversource originally contested the DPU notice and the issue was not resolved until April 3 of this year through a consent order.
“As stated in the consent order, the resolution was not admission, by Eversource, that it violated any pipeline safety law or regulation,” said William Hinkle, an Eversource spokesperson, via email.
“This was an isolated event involving one of our contractors where important safety policies around excavation and Dig Safe law were not followed ﹘ reinforcing the critical nature of these policies for public safety,” Hinkle wrote.
Asked if the homeowner and tenants had been compensated, Hinkle replied “There are pending lawsuits related to that.”
A spokesperson for the DPU said it is not uncommon for the DPU to resolve incidents with consent orders, noting it operates as “an adjudicatory agency with this particular matter of pipeline safety.”
It’s in its findings where the DPU states the company violated safety laws said the spokesperson. “When they sign that consent agreement that matter is closed with us and they pay the fine.”
According to the DPU incident report, Eversource and Devereaux personnel made multiple preliminary site visits to Prince Street prior to the Nov. 4 event during which they “marked out the residence with marker flags and paint.”
During one of those visits, “When the locator went to verify his marks with the service card for 126 Prince Street, it did not match,” the DPU report states.
The Devereaux locator later that same day “went back to 126 Prince Street with one of the service cards from 140 Prince Street and some of the measurements near the street seemed to match.”
On the day of the explosion, according to the DPU report, “The Devereaux crew reported that, by looking at the service card, no machine excavation was expected to cross over the active service.”
“The foreman believed they were outside of the tolerance zone and the crew proceeded to mechanically excavate the trench,” the DPU report said. At 7:45 a.m., “the foreman felt a tug as the machine was being operated to excavate. The laborer then started to hand-dig to locate the impacted object. The laborer told the foreman that he could hear blowing gas.”
The crew then attempted to shut off the gas service at the curb but were not able to do so because they did not have the proper valve key.
The house ignited at 7:51. The laborer was injured, although not seriously.
Needham Fire Department responded to the scene and issued a second alarm, which drew responses from fire personnel from four other communities.
Needham Fire Chief Tom Conroy noted that it does not require a large opening in a service line for gas to accumulate quickly. “Even if it’s half an inch or a quarter of an inch, now you’ve got all that gas blowing in and it’s not lit.”
An Eversource report calculated that 72,000 cubic feet of natural gas was released. A typical American home uses approximately 600 cubic feet of natural gas in a year.
“So that gas is starting to build up and build up and build up,” Conroy said. “Well, it found an ignition source and there was an explosion.”
He noted that the explosion blew out the rear of the house. “The debris field was about 200 feet,” he said.
Conroy said the slightest spark can cause gas to ignite and ignition sources can be difficult to confirm. “It could have been a water heater. Maybe the furnace was firing at that point.”
Had any of the residents been home at the time, “it would have been catastrophic,” he said.
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