Some Massachusetts homeowners and small businesses are still struggling to return to normalcy after September's dramatic gas pipeline explosions, even as the utility responsible says the vast majority of customers have heat and hot water again.
Columbia Gas said this week that only about 150 customers who opted to do required repairs themselves are still waiting for service to be restored, calling its work in the Merrimack Valley "substantially complete." It had originally promised to reach the milestone before Thanksgiving.
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Some Massachusetts homeowners and small businesses are still struggling to return to normalcy after September's dramatic gas pipeline explosions, even as the utility responsible says the vast majority of customers have heat and hot water again.
Some small business owners in the region near the New Hampshire state line also say they're still reeling because business hasn't picked back up. They say many residents either aren't spending or haven't returned to the neighborhood full time.
Most affected homes and businesses didn't see extensive damage, but nearly all needed hot water heaters, boilers, stoves or other natural gas appliances repaired or replaced.
Since then, the family of four has been staying in an apartment paid for by their insurance while their home is rebuilt. They hope to move in by next spring.
A few blocks over, Luis Heredia has all but given up after asking Columbia Gas for weeks to replace the boiler its contractors installed in late October.
"We never had problems before with our old boiler," Heredia said in Spanish. "The house isn't the same."
Fire officials said a North Andover family was exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide last week after workers replaced a valve on the home's boiler, and a Lawrence woman said she suffered first-degree burns on her hands and face after flames suddenly shot up from her new stove.
A couple of miles (kilometers) from Heredia's home, Junior Hernandez sat at the cash register of his corner store in Lawrence one recent afternoon and wondered if business was ever going to pick up.
"Sometimes it feels like the whole is neighborhood is gone," he said. "Nobody is buying anything."
But that doesn't factor in about 30 other families still dealing with extensive fire or explosion damage that will take months more to repair.
Lawrence, Mass. police officer Ivan Soto looks as contractors work on a new foundation at the former site of his family home, which was destroyed on Sept. 13, 2018 after a gas line explosion in Lawrence, Mass., Friday, Dec. 7. Following a gas line failure, which displaced thousands of Lawrence residents, many residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. Officials announced that most have been connected back to their service following the fires, explosions and loss of their main heating utility, but there are many issues which still need to be solved. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
Some small business owners in the region near the New Hampshire state line also say they're still reeling because business hasn't picked back up. They say many residents either aren't spending or haven't returned to the neighborhood full time.
And some property owners complain repairs done by the company and its contractors have only led to more problems.
"Our old neighbors are feeling relief, and we're happy for them," said Ivan Soto, a police officer in Lawrence whose home was one of 131 structures seriously damaged or destroyed in the disaster. "It feels good to know the community is starting to recover. But it's a little different for us. We're not there yet."
FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2018 file photograph, the home owned by Ivan Soto, a Lawrence, Mass. police officer, sits nearly burned to the ground in Lawrence. After rushing home to check on his family and warn his neighbors to evacuate, Soto went back on patrol while his house burned down. Officials announced that most have been connected back to their service following the fires, explosions and loss of their main heating utility, but there are many issues which still need to be solved. (AP PhotoMary Schwalm)
Most affected homes and businesses didn't see extensive damage, but nearly all needed hot water heaters, boilers, stoves or other natural gas appliances repaired or replaced.
Over-pressurization during a routine pipeline replacement project triggered the series of natural gas explosions in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover on Sept. 13. One person died and more than two dozen were injured.
Soto's modest ranch home burned to the ground while he was on duty. The 36-year-old Lawrence resident rushed home to make sure his family was safe before returning to duty to help evacuate the city.
Ivan Soto, a Lawrence, Mass. police officer, poses at the construction site of his former family home, which was destroyed after a gas line explosion on Sept. 13, 2018 in Lawrence, Mass., Friday, Dec. 7. Following a gas line failure, which displaced thousands of Lawrence residents, many residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. Officials announced that most have been connected back to their service following the fires, explosions and loss of their main heating utility, but there are many issues which still need to be solved. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
Since then, the family of four has been staying in an apartment paid for by their insurance while their home is rebuilt. They hope to move in by next spring.
Soto said he parks his cruiser at their property from time to time and watches the new house rise. The rubble has already been cleared, and a new foundation was recently poured.
"It's nice to see the progress," Soto said. "We're grateful to have a roof over head, but it isn't home. Home is on Jefferson Street."
Luis Heredia describes how the heat from a new boiler does not reach his children's second floor bedrooms, which replaced his old unit that was damaged after the Sept. 13, 2018 gas line explosions, in Lawrence, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 5. Following a gas line failure which displaced thousands of Lawrence residents, many residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. Officials announced that most have been connected back to their service following the fires, explosions and loss of their main heating utility, but there are many issues which still need to be solved. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
A few blocks over, Luis Heredia has all but given up after asking Columbia Gas for weeks to replace the boiler its contractors installed in late October.
He said the house's basement filled up with thick black smoke on two occasions, prompting visits from both firefighters and Columbia Gas contractors. Each time, he said, workers assured him the problems had been resolved.
But the 55-year-old said the house still isn't heating properly. The upstairs bedrooms where his three young children sleep are chilly unless he cranks the thermostat past 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), Heredia said. Rather than run up their heating bill, the family makes do with space heaters.
Luis Heredia turns on a space heater in his son's bedroom as he explains how the heat from a new boiler does not reach the second floor bedrooms in Lawrence, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Following a gas line failure on Sept. 13, which displaced thousands of Lawrence residents, many residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. Officials announced that most have been connected back to their service following the fires, explosions and loss of their main heating utility, but there are many issues which still need to be solved. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
"We never had problems before with our old boiler," Heredia said in Spanish. "The house isn't the same."
Columbia Gas declined to comment on Heredia's issue but said it will continue to provide free repairs to any equipment installed through May 2020.
Spokesman Dean Lieberman said the company has received a "small amount" of complaints on repaired or replaced equipment but declined to elaborate.
Corner market owner Junior Hernandez holds up bananas, which are spoiling on his store shelves due to lack of customers in his neighborhood, in Lawrence, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Many residents in his neighborhood have been relocated for months since a gas line failure on Sept. 13, 2018, which displaced thousands. Residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
Fire officials said a North Andover family was exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide last week after workers replaced a valve on the home's boiler, and a Lawrence woman said she suffered first-degree burns on her hands and face after flames suddenly shot up from her new stove.
Lieberman said the "configuration of the chimney and some customer-made modifications" limited ventilation and contributed to the carbon monoxide incident. He said the stove incident was likely caused a grease fire.
"We have no reason to believe there is a systemic problem with the repairs Columbia Gas contractors made or that there is a broader threat in other homes," he said in an email.
Corner market owner Junior Hernandez watches as students walk past his store in Lawrence, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Hernandez said he has lost most of his customers and can't offer the usual hot and perishable foods to residents in his neighborhood, because they have been relocated for months since a gas line failure on Sept. 13, 2018. Residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
A couple of miles (kilometers) from Heredia's home, Junior Hernandez sat at the cash register of his corner store in Lawrence one recent afternoon and wondered if business was ever going to pick up.
Three customers trickled into Hernandez Market during a time of the day when the storeowner said he typically sees a rush of students seeking after-school snacks, including his homemade empanadas.
Hernandez, who opened the market nine years ago, said he's gone from earning $500 to $1,000 a day to less than $200.
A worker cleans up as Salem Street is prepared to be covered up for the day after gas line repairs in Lawrence, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Many residents in this neighborhood have been relocated for months since a gas line failure on Sept. 13, 2018, which displaced thousands. Residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
"Sometimes it feels like the whole is neighborhood is gone," he said. "Nobody is buying anything."
Columbia Gas has offered him $6,200 in compensation, but Hernandez said that's not nearly enough. He said it would cost nearly $5,500 just to replace a deli counter fridge damaged when electricity was restored to the building.
Hernandez has virtually emptied his savings account to keep the market afloat, but he's reluctant to tap into the small business loan fund created after the disaster. He's concerned he might not be able to pay the money back if business doesn't rebound.
A workers clean up as Salem Street is prepared to be covered up for the day after gas line repairs in Lawrence, Mass., Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018. Many residents in this neighborhood have been relocated for months since a gas line failure on Sept. 13, 2018, which displaced thousands. Residents and business owners are dealing with the after effects of the crisis. (AP PhotoCharles Krupa)
"It's a gamble," Hernandez said. "And at this stage, I can't take the gamble."
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