2016 Portland gas explosion

A large gas explosion occurred in the Northwest District neighborhood of Portland, Oregon 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 property damages totaling $17.2 million. The Oregon Public Utilities Commission determined the cause to be inadequate notification by the contractor, Loy Clark Pipeline. In total, 13 buildings were damaged, including the total destruction of the Alfred C. F. Burkhardt House, built in 1906 and listed on the 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
Deathsnone
Non-fatal injuries8
Property damage$17.2 million USD[1]

Details

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. When the excavator hit the pipe, it did not break the pipe, but pulled it out of a valve some distance away. This caused the gas to travel under the sidewalk and fill into the basement of 500 NW 23rd Avenue which ultimately exploded.[2][3] The obliterated building was called the Alfred C. F. Burkhardt House and it was put was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[4] The Oregon Public Utility Commission concluded "Insufficient Notice to the Oregon Utility Notification Center by Loy Clark Pipeline Co" as the root cause.[2] Asbestos was found in the debris two days after the explosion. The building had an abatement work done in 1990, but it did not include the roofing, which contained 35% asbestos.[5]

At 8:55 AM, an excavator called NW Natural, the local gas company, after he hit and dislodged a natural gas line. 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 amount of firefighters (3 engines and 1 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.

The blast which occurred around 9:38AM follow reports of strong gas odor. Eight were injured in total.[6] Three firefighters and two police officers were among the injured.[7] The building that the gas leak occurred in was destroyed and contained Portland Bagel Works, Fetch Eyewear, and Artwork Rebels Tattoo Parlor. Other businesses also affected by the explosion include Pizzicato, Dosha Salon, FedEx Office, and Umpqua Bank. After this, hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and paramedics responded. People nearby reported nonstop sirens for at least 10 minutes and cop cars, fire trucks, and ambulances every 5 seconds. Hospitals and Emergency Services went into "mass-casualty mode" and prepared for the worst. The nearby Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center went without power in 4 buildings.[8] 2,500 customers lost electricity after the incident.[9] 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.[10]

Boarded up businesses after the explosion

KATU reported that Loy Clark Pipeline had six OSHA violations in five years leading up to the accident.[11]

Loy Clark Pipeline was founded in 1957 and it is a part of Bismarck, North Dakota based MDU Construction Services Group, Inc[12][13]

Aftermath

In 2018, ten lawsuits were filed against Loy Clark Pipeline, the company responsible for the blast.[14][15] A building was completely destroyed and eight people were injured.[16] Among them is a dental hygienist who was hit by shards of glass who has filed a lawsuit for $689,000 against Loy Clark Pipeline.[1] The owners of the building at 520–526 NW 23rd Avenue has 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."[17] For this incident, The Oregonian reports that OSHA fined Tualatin, Oregon based Loy Clark Pipeline $4,900 for this incident and noted they dug on the north side of NW 23rd Avenue even though their notification was for digging on the south side.[18] The American Red Cross set up a shelter for people displaced by the explosion.[19]

Then Portland Mayor Charlie Hales said in a press conference that "it's a miracle no one was killed".[20]

The Oregonian reported in December 2019 that two additional businesses Portland Bagelworks and Dosha SalonSpa have filed lawsuits.[21]

See also

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. 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
  5. Steele, Tim (2016-10-21). "DEQ: Asbestos found in NW Portland explosion debris". KOIN. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
  6. "Natural gas explosion rocks Portland neighborhood, injuring 8". Fox News. October 19, 2016.
  7. Stelloh, Tim; Walters, Shamar; Douglas, David (October 19, 2016). "Oregon Natural Gas Explosion Injures Eight, Destroys Building". NBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  8. "Explosion reported in NW Portland; 8 injured, including 3 firefighters". OregonLive. October 19, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  9. Staff, KATU com (2016-10-19). "Explosion reported after gas leak in NW Portland, smoke plumes seen for miles". KATU. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  10. Staff, KGW (October 20, 2016). "Portland firm says subcontractor hit gas line in NW Portland gas blast".
  11. 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.
  12. "About Loy Clark Construction - Located in Tualatin, Oregon". Loy Clark Construction. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  13. "MDU Construction Services Group". www.mducsg.com. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  14. "Woman injured in NW 23rd explosion first to file lawsuit". KGW. April 26, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  15. "10 lawsuits filed in aftermath of NW 23rd Ave. explosions". OregonLive. October 31, 2018. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  16. Flaccus, Gillian (October 19, 2016). "Gas explosion rocks Portland shopping district, injuring 8". Associated Press. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  17. 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.
  18. Brettman, Allan (2017-04-07). "NW 23rd blast: Oregon agency fines Loy Clark Pipeline $4,900". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  19. "Timely evacuations prevented deaths as massive gas explosion rocks Northwest Portland". Portland Tribune. October 19, 2016. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  20. "Portland Gas Explosion: 'It's a Miracle No One Was Killed'". Portland, OR Patch. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  21. 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.
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