11/22/2006

Tension in Guilford

Michael Gannon , Register Staff

GUILFORD — A truck hauling 9,000 gallons of liquid propane went out of control and crashed on a local street Tuesday afternoon, setting off a coordinated and quick effort by firefighters and police to evacuate dozens of homes and businesses. The tank did not rupture, and firefighters did not detect any leaks, but the highly explosive nature of propane caused some tense moments. By late Tuesday night, authorities had stabilized the truck on marshy ground but had not righted it. Residents were still not allowed back to their homes as a precaution in event of explosion or leak. All utilities in the area were shut down and telephone service was being interrupted because of a phone line directly above the truck. Deputy Fire Chief Ken Maginniss said the line had to be stabilized before the truck could be righted. Jean and Paul Schiraldi of Joyce Street said they were first aware of the incident when a firefighter knocked on their door. "He told us we had to evacuate," Jean Schiraldi said. "He looked very concerned." The truck crashed and rolled over on Soundview Road, just off Exit 59 of Interstate 95, directly in front of houses. Deputy Fire Chief Ken Maginniss said the accident took place at about 3:25 p.m. when the driver of the truck apparently failed to negotiate an S-curve in the road. "The tank is not leaking," Maginniss said just before 6 p.m. "We’ve evacuated homes and businesses within a half-mile radius. Those who didn’t have anywhere else to go have been sent to the community center on Church Street." He said the driver was able to extricate himself from the wreck, and that the truck was owned by a New Jersey firm. Deputy Police Chief Jeff Hutchinson said police officials were not yet releasing the name of the driver, and they would not know immediately if they would be issuing summonses. "Right now, we’re just concentrating on working with the Fire Department and the (Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection)," he said. Branford and Clinton firefighters also responded to the scene. Brian Emanuelson of the DEP said officials would first try to separate the cab from the trailer. The hope would be that they would continue to find no leaks, and that they could eventually right the trailer with the tank intact and without having to remove the propane, which Maginniss said is a highly combustible gas. Maginniss said late Tuesday night that the truck’s fuel tanks will be drained before deciding what to do with the propane, and that authorities were considering the possibility of removing the propane before righting the truck, but no decision had been made. Assistant Fire Chief David Moffat said it would be hard to estimate the damage that would have been caused had the trailer caught fire. Moffat said all utilities in the area were shut down but that Amtrak service on nearby tracks had not yet been affected. There was still the possibility late Tuesday that train traffic could be shut down when the propane was off-loaded, but the decision had not been made. Amtrak police also were on the scene. Moffat said that local officials were waiting for experts from as far away as New Hampshire to draw up a final strategy for righting the tanker. He said the half-mile evacuation radius was not chosen at random. "We do certain things by the book, given the size and type of the truck, the number of gallons of propane involved and other criteria," he said. "If there had been a problem with leakage or fire, we would have been back even further." Moffat said no final plan of action would be completed until all experts were on the scene and had consulted with each other. Traffic was reduced to a crawl on Soundview Road and Goose Lane, where they cross Route 146 and the Boston Post Road. Donald and Barbara Ewing of Joyce Street were among more than three dozen evacuees who were having dinner at the community center. Both had heard the wreck. "But I didn’t think anything of it until I saw the flashing lights," he said. "Then we got a (recorded) call from the town telling us that our house was in an area that had a serious accident." Both couples said the accommodations at the center were first-rate, particularly a meal of vegetable soup, chicken and macaroni and cheese. "They even let me bring my dog," Jean Schiraldi said. Martin Konopko, owner of Creative Small Business Solutions at 29 Soundview Road, said he was out of the office Tuesday afternoon when his bookkeeper, Michelle Dwyer, called to say that fire and police officials were evacuating the building. Konopko said no one panicked and he just told staff to "turn off the computers and go." About a dozen residents were going to settle into local hotels for the night. Some were allowed back into their homes briefly to get medicines.

©New Haven Register 2006