Reports of at least two fatalities and hundreds of injuries are coming in as news of an explosion at Kleen Energy on River Road come in.
Former Common Council member Earle Roberts called and left a message that about 11:15 an explosion nearly rocked his house off of its foundation on nearby Bow Lane. Roberts said that the force of the explosion nearly tore the roof from his house, and sent a cloud of brown debris into the air above the plant which is under construction, and was scheduled to come on line later this year.
I felt the explosion myself at my house on Pearl Street. It sounded as if something had fallen off of my roof, and onto my porch.
i was at wadsworth, bottom of little falls, and the explosion felt and sounded pretty powerful. sorry to hear about the fatalities and injuries. please keep us updated.
ReplyDeleteI felt this blast too and my prayers to everyone who needs them. It should not go unmentioned, the people behind this plant have some heavy duty state and local political connections and were able to force this plant down our throats despite opposition from some. Was state and federal safety standards overlooked? I don't know but somebody definately needs to look into this.
ReplyDeleteI was on the air (WMRD-AM) at the time of the explosion, 750 yards down the road (back towards Middletown) and, other than a power surge, we felt and heard nothing. We received a phone call from Chester asking if we had heard anything about an earthquake in the area.
ReplyDeleteI will say this - the response from the Fire Department, Police and Rescue Services was extremely quick.
I felt it at my house on the south end of HIgh Street - we thought that a car had crashed into our house
ReplyDeleteI live about two miles from the plant, off of Bow Lane. My house shook, and my initial thought was that my front porch had finally broken away from the house from the weight of the wood pellets I keep out there. I realize now that sounds ridiculous. I went out there and checked and everything was OK. About 10 minutes later, I heard sirens (a lot of them) and they seemed to be coming from every direction. At that point, I knew it had been an explosion and something was seriously wrong. I don't remember hearing a "boom" like I had about 8 years ago when the propane tank blew up in town. Just felt like something "whacked" the house hard.
ReplyDeleteFirst the developers destroyed a wooded bluff above the river to make a buck. Now we have further damage and destruction, human lives lost. Were the arrogance, selfishness, and willful ignorance involved in the siting of the plant also involved in causing this tragic accident?
ReplyDeleteThis area has a history of tragedy. The old felspar plant that sat on this same site, had it's share of gruesome fatalities.
ReplyDeleteClean it up and leave it alone.