DANVERS - Standing in the middle of Bates Street, surrounded by boarded-up homes and yards full of debris, Deputy fire Chief Kevin Farrell offered a Thanksgiving blessing.

"You look at all the devastation here," he said, "(and you realize) people were lucky. Luck was on our side."

Farrell led the media down Bates and Riverside streets yesterday afternoon as a light rain fell. It was the first public tour of the area hardest hit by Wednesday morning's mega-blast at a chemical plant right behind Bates Street - an explosion that sparked a 10-alarm fire and brought aid from as far as Gloucester.

Farrell agreed to give the tour as long as the media promised not to stray from the street. The reason was soon apparent - a row of houses at the beginning of Bates Street was posted with bright orange cards to indicate they are too dangerous to enter.

"If anyone leaves the street, we're all going to turn around and go back," he warned.

These two streets and the surrounding area have been called a "war zone," and the description seems to fit. The chemical plant that exploded at 126 Water St. is a pile of twisted steel and charred remains. Walls and tops of buildings are missing from nearby businesses and homes. Many cars have broken windshields.

The residential destruction is worst at the beginning of Bates Street, which is next to the chemical plant. A row of badly damaged homes is still untouched, their broken doors and windows open, gaping holes left in the roofs and walls.

Building fragments and other debris dangle high up in a few trees. Aluminum gutters blown off homes are scattered across lawns. One gutter is hanging over an electrical wire like summer wash on the line.

Most of the boats stored in the yard at the Liberty Marina, which is right behind the plant, are upright and appear in relatively good shape.

"I'm surprised a majority of those boats stayed on their jacks or on their trailers," Farrell said.

In another surprise, there appeared to be little damage at the far end of Riverside Street along the water. Homes stood intact and windows unbroken. However, most of Riverside Street is boarded up.

A house at 26 Riverside St. has broken windows on one side. In front, still standing, is a post with a sign that says "SOLD."