Published: 11/24/2006
Day 2: Blast area a ghost town
By Tom DaltonStaff writer
DANVERS - The Danversport neighborhood at the epicenter of Wednesday's massive chemical plant explosion was a virtual ghost town yesterday. Streets were evacuated, homes were empty, and the only human activity was among the police, fire and emergency crews working above and below ground.
It will take awhile for families to return to their homes on Bates and Riverside streets, the two hardest-hit areas. For a few, the homecoming may never happen because their homes may have to be razed.
"Four to five homes (on Bates Street) appear to be compromised," said Danvers Town Manager Wayne Marquis, who spoke to the press in a makeshift media center set up in the New England Home for the Deaf, a building across the Danvers River that also suffered damage.
For many residents, however, a return to normal - or some semblance of it - may be within sight.
"I would hope that within a few days we would allow people to go back into the homes that can be occupied," Marquis said.
A determination will be made today on when gas and electricity can be safely restored.
"It could begin on Friday, but it will be done on a limited, house-by-house basis," Marquis said.
With streets fenced off and barricades everywhere, residents appealed yesterday to public safety officials to let them make brief visits back home. Some had been allowed into their homes Wednesday night to retrieve items, but many had not been back.
Holly Gould, 31, and Joshua Drennan, 33, wanted to go back to their apartment at 7 Bates St. to search for their two cats. They have not seen the pets since the 2:46 a.m. explosion at CAI Inc. and Arnel, the chemical companies that shared a large building at 126 Water St. The blast rocked this neighborhood and was heard across the North Shore.
Searching for pets
"With all the rubble, we couldn't find the cats," Gould said of Morrigan, an 8-year-old Manx with long gray hair, and Kishy, a 10-year-old black cat.
"When something scares them, they hide under things," she said, "so we think they're still inside. ... Both the cats have never been outside."
Town officials, who earlier said they were not aware of any pets left behind, allowed the couple to stand outside their damaged building, one of the houses deemed structurally unsafe, and call the cats' names. It is not known if the cats were found.
