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Court: Contractor deserves fines for gas-main accident that blew up a house in Readville
By adamg on Mon, 10/19/2015 - 11:55am
Danny Road aftermath, from DPU report.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today the state did nothing wrong in fining a water-main contractor for a 2010 explosion that leveled one Readville home and damaged several others.
The state Department of Public Utilities had levied a $31,000 fine - the maximum allowed under state law - against DeFelice Corp. for the explosion at 17 Danny Rd. on Nov. 3, 2010 (DPU report on the incident). The Boston Fire Department estimated damage from the explosion totaled $1 million.
State regulators said that while DeFelice had contacted DigSafe to find the location of gas mains in the area, and that while NStar (now Eversource) had failed to mark off all its gas valves and lines in the area, DeFelice was ultimately to blame for the explosion because it failed to notify the clearinghouse that it would specifically be digging on Danny Road.
Also, the contractor used a jackhammer in an area where there might have been an underground gas line in an unmarked area - which you're not supposed to do. DeFelice then used an backhoe on Danny Road, which is what nicked a gas line into 17 Danny Road, filling it with gas and making it explode - just after two of its workers realized what had happened and one knocked on the door to get anybody inside out. There was no one home at the time.
In its ruling, the justices concluded the DPU had enough reason to find DeFelice to blame:
Because DeFelice failed to give notice that it would be excavating farther down Danny Road than just "street to property line" at the intersection with Reynold Road, and admittedly damaged the natural gas service line at 17 Danny Road, there was prima facie evidence of DeFelice's negligence.
Neighborhoods:
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 Complete ruling, DeFelice Corp. vs Department of Public Utilities | 106.78 KB |
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Comments
Finally!
So is this the last appeal? Everyone in the neighborhood has known since day one that DeFelice was digging on Danny when Danny wasn't marked, but the poor homeowners have been in legal limbo for years while all the parties sued each other. One of the neighbors even called the mayor's hotline to complain that they were digging on a street that Dig Safe hadn't marked, but the house blew up before anyone did anything about it.
Gas Explosin Danny and Reynold Rd.
I made several phone calls in the three weeks before the explosion to the Boston Water and Sewer, the Mayors Office and the City Councilors Office. I also called the Boston Water and Sewer the afternoon before the explosion and spoke with the engineer on the job to ask if they had plans to dig on Danny Rd. I wanted him to sit in my living room with me if they did. He said "We have no intentions of digging on Danny Rd." The next morning the backhoe was digging on Danny Rd. I tried to make phone calls but it was before eight (8:am). This costly mess was avoidable. It's a shame the way people that should be protecting and represent us treat us.