Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Gas company workers had told the Fire Department they had the situation under control before the explosion, and that the firefighters could leave, Fire Chief Scott Jepson said today.

A call came in to 911 at 5:10 p.m., reporting a gas leak in the neighborhood, Jepson said. Police and firefighters came to the neighborhood and alerted the gas company, which sent a crew to investigate, according to Massachusetts state trooper Mike Peters, a fire investigator assigned to the state fire marshal's office. Officials were going door to door trying to determine where the leak was coming from.

A small crew knocked on Rebello's door, where there was no answer, and had just walked into the neighbor's yard when the house exploded, killing Rebello and her dog, according to Peters.

Peters said a New England Gas Co. crew and van were in the street at the time of the explosion, and that debris from the explosion passed over the van.

"It felt like a bomb going off," said Marie Medeiros, who has lived at 72 New York Ave., across the street from Rebello, for 45 years.

Medeiros was cooking dinner and had stepped outside to speak with fire officials checking reports of a gas leak. She went back in, she said, with the impression things were under control.

By phone, her granddaughter told her to get out of the house, but she stayed, she said, because she didn't want to leave her cats.

From inside, Medeiros saw a gas company employee walking around the perimeter of Rebello's house. She didn't see the actual explosion, she said, because she stepped into her living room when everything went "pitch black."

The lights went out, she said. "Picture frames, glass, china, everything" was flying toward her, Medeiros said. Her kitchen cupboards opened and things were falling and breaking. She said she has never been in an earthquake, but it was like she imagined an earthquake to be.

Rebello's house "was totally demolished," Medeiros said.

She didn't see pieces of furniture, sinks, anything.

"The house is there, and then nothing," she said. "Nothing, nothing."

Some residents are hearing that they won't be able to move back in to their homes until this weekend, she said. Medeiros's son was able to return to her house Thursday night, she said, to get medications she needed.

Her grandson, Timothy Medeiros, returned today to retrieve her cats.

"It seemed like the house actually lifted up," he said, referring to his grandmother's house. "There was even a crack in the foundation. It almost seems like somebody grabbed the house and started shaking it."

Somerset police Capt. John Solomito has confirmed that Rosemarie Rebello resided in the house at 93 New York Ave.

Her body "was found in the front yard of 93 New York Avenue, or what was left of 93 New York Avenue," Solomito said.

The media today have taken over Billy DeSousa's yard at 290 Connecticut Ave., about half a block from Rebello's house.

A sales representative for PVS Chemicals, DeSousa works at home, and said he knew Rebello from seeing her around the neighborhood, walking her small dog.

"She was one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet," he said.

Peters, a fire investigator assigned to the state fire marshal's office, characterized the incident as a "perfect explosion."

When gas builds up in a structure and causes an explosion, Peters said, often it will build up in an area such as a basement, and then is somehow ignited and that causes some damage or a house is popped off its foundation.

But in this case, all indications are that gas had filled the entire house, Peters said.

Today pieces of splintered roof are scattered in the road, there is charred furniture, pieces of debris hanging from trees.

The police are investigating the explosion, although William Meehan, chairman of the town's Board of Selectmen, said Thursday that officials believe it was caused by a natural gas leak.

Gas company officials were not immediately available for comment.

Fire Chief Jepson said today that New England Gas workers arrived at 5:40 Thursday evening and determined that the leak was in the street. They called in heavy equipment to do more digging and probing, he said.

"They then released our fire engine," Jepson said. "They said they were all set, they had crews on, which is not unusual. That's their expertise."

Although the Fire Department can shut off the gas in some residences, overall responsibility for gas shutoffs lies with the gas company, Jepson said.

"The next step in the process was when we got the report of the explosion," he said.

Some 200 residents of New York, Rhode Island and Eastview avenues in Somerset's Americana Terrace section were evacuated after the home exploded at about 6:18 p.m.

Seventy-five people who live in the area went to the nearby Chace Elementary School, which was set up as a shelter, but all of them found other accommodations within a couple of hours, Solomito said.

Solomito said "dozens" of homes had been damaged either by the force of the blast or by public safety officials, who in some cases had to break doors or windows in houses to ensure residents were evacuated.

An employee of New England Gas Co., which serves the Somerset area, and a firefighter were also hurt. Their conditions were unknown, but officials Thursday night said their injuries were believed to be minor.

The police plan to check all the houses in the area to ensure there are no more victims. They're also checking the stability of homes. They want people who have been evacuated from their homes to contact them at one of the following numbers: (508) 674-1444 or (508) 679-2138. Those are the police dispatch numbers for the department.

Shortly before 2 p.m. this afternoon, a strong smell of gas filled the neighborhood because crews were purging gas lines. The task started around 1:45 p.m. and fire officials said the smell would be noticeable for about 40 minutes.

The neighborhood remains cordoned off and about 40 families are still displaced from their homes, Jepson said shortly before 2. Police officers have been escorting displaced residents back to their homes to retrieve animals and valuables.

Officials are hoping that residents of nearby Rhode Island and Eastview avenues can return to their homes today, but Jepson said he's unsure when the residents of New York Avenue will be able to return.