September 17, 2018
Gemline Reopens After Explosion Scare
The Top 40 supplier’s facility and employees are in good shape, and the company is again fully operational.
Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) has reopened its facility after being forced to close late last week following a series of gas-related explosions that rocked the company’s town of Lawrence, MA and the neighboring Bay State communities of Andover and North Andover.
Early Monday, Gemline’s Saadia Bryant told Counselor that the supplier is fully operational. “We reopened on Saturday to begin catching up on orders,” Bryant said. “All departments are now running normally. If a customer’s order was impacted, we will contact them directly.”
#MassachusettsFires | Massachusetts State Police said a total of 70 fires, explosions or investigations of gas odor had been reported.
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 14, 2018
Read here: https://t.co/VGwMuIogX7 pic.twitter.com/6r0bwASObm
Gemline’s facility was not damaged by the explosions or the scores of subsequent fires they caused to rip through the Massachusetts’ towns. Nonetheless, state and local authorities closed the area to businesses and residents late Thursday and Friday – a restriction that is being lifted after safety checks.
Gemline’s employees are okay, Bryant said. “Thankfully, our workforce is all safe,” she told Counselor.
Massachusetts residents will be allowed to return home following gas fires: https://t.co/DSXO58L6Ur pic.twitter.com/XUCWbHL332
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) September 17, 2018
Tragically, that couldn’t be said of everyone in Lawrence. Leonel Rondon, 18, died after a chimney collapsed onto the car in which he was sitting. The chimney fell after a home exploded.
Authorities have not officially declared a cause of the explosions. Still, investigations have focused on gas lines operated by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, an entity that’s part of the utility company NiSource. Authorities have said that it’s possible that over-pressurized gas lines could be behind the eruptions, which sent fires blazing through some local homes.
“It’s heartbreaking to see this devastation and this tragedy,” Joe Hamrock, NiSource CEO, said at a Sunday news conference.
Three Massachusetts cities are nearing a critical first step of recovery—ensuring homes are safe and have power—after a deadly series of fires and explosions, Gov. Charlie Baker said https://t.co/no4V0lNruA
— CNN (@CNN) September 17, 2018