Lawrence Township Fire Department
Chief Jerry Whitaker
Personnel: 90 career firefighters, 40 volunteer firefighters
Apparatus: Five engines, one ladder, two squads, three ambulances
Population: 26,779
Area: 25 square miles
"Oh dear God, I thought an airplane had crashed or a tornado hit." Billie Thomas, victim.
At 2:32 P.M. on July 21, 1997, a 20-inch Citizen's Gas pipeline under 300-400 psi pressure exploded near 96th Street and Charter Road adjacent to the Charter Pointe subdivision in the northeast corner of Marion County, IN. The explosion and subsequent fireball were felt for a three-mile radius from the scene and the fireball extended 50 feet or more into the air.
Photo by Martin Seppala The fireball caused extensive damage to electric power lines and utility poles.
A crew of Lawrence Township firefighters training in the area with the Fishers Fire Department saw the fire in the area of 96th Street and Masters Road. They notified fire control, which dispatched a residential response at 2:33 P.M., as did neighboring Fishers. While the units were still enroute, a second alarm was dispatched based on the request of the original responding crew.
On arrival at 2:35, firefighters reported three homes 75% involved in fire and four others 50% involved. Fire suppression efforts were directed to those homes that were only 50% involved and neighboring exposures to try to save them and protect neighboring homes. Battalion Chief Kevin Burk, the incident commander, called for a third alarm on his arrival. (The Lawrence Township Fire Department responds under automatic joint response agreements with neighboring Indianapolis, Lawrence City and Washington Township fire departments.)
Photo by Martin Seppala Fireball and heavy smoke dwarf private dwellings. Note the great difference in the size of the front-end loader and the size of the fireball.
Citizen's Gas shut off the flow of gas through the pipe at 3:06 P.M. That caused the fire to burn out, letting firefighters make attacks on the burning residences. Once the majority of the fires were contained, firefighters conducted primary and secondary searches of the residences. Gladys Mills, 84, of 6610 Settlement Drive was found dead in her home at approximately 4:30 P.M. David Apley, 35, of 6622 Settlement Drive escaped the flames with second-degree burns on his legs and neck. He was treated and released from Community North Hospital. Search dogs from the Marion County Urban Search and Rescue Task Force were used to comb the burned residences.
In the minutes following the explosion, more than 150 calls were received by the Indianapolis Fire Communications Center, more than double the normal number of calls for a Monday afternoon. Six fire departments from Marion and Hamilton counties responded with 116 firefighters. The Marion County Sheriff's Department, Fishers Police, Hamilton County Sheriff's Department and Indiana State Police assisted in traffic, crowd and media management. Officials from Marion County Emergency Management, the Marion County Health Department, the Metropolitan Emergency Communications Agency, the Indianapolis Departments of Public Works, Metropolitan Development and Capital Asset Management, and the Fishers Department of Public Works assisted in managing the incident. Utilities participating included Citizen's Gas, Ameritech and Indianapolis Power and Light Companies.
The investigation began as soon as the scene was cool enough to proceed. Members of the Marion and Hamilton County Fire Investigation Task Forces responded to the scene. Task force members were joined by investigators from the Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
While there have been no findings as to the cause of the explosion or the ignition source, George Macharko of the NTSB announced that there was no evidence of corrosion but that there was evidence of external damage on the pipe. It is also known that the pipeline was brought to a higher pressure earlier in the day of the explosion. Metallurgists and other scientists will examine a 10-foot section of the pipe at NTSB laboratory facilities in Washington, D.C. It is also known that the pipeline was completely buried at the time of the blast and that there was comparatively little damage caused by the blast itself. The majority of damage was due to fires started by radiant heat which ignited nearby homes. Six homes were destroyed by the fires and 40 others sustained measurable heat damage, mostly to vinyl siding, doors, windows and landscaping. Insurance adjusters have estimated the total damage to be $2 million to $3 million.
Photo by Peter S. Beering An earth mound (right) shielded homes from the blast.
Support for victims began immediately. Seventy-five people were temporarily sheltered at a Fishers fire station. The American Red Cross assisted with sheltering, food, clothing and hotels for victims. Citizen's Gas provided meals and hotels for victims. Several critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) sessions were held for residents and victims. All utility service was restored to the neighborhood three days after the incident.
A review of gas leak investigation responses in Marion County indicated that the Indianapolis Fire Department responded to 214 gas leak runs in 1997 prior to this incident. The Lawrence Township Fire Department responded to 14 gas leak investigation runs, only three of which were within three miles of the explosion site. Gas company officials, area fire departments and NTSB representatives have assured residents that this is an unusual event and that there is no need to fear underground facilities like gas pipelines.
Incident command was used to effectively control the response to this situation. This allowed additional resources to be effectively deployed as they joined the event. It also allowed for an organized assignment of resources necessary to conduct the investigation.
While good luck is never an acceptable substitute for good preparation, residents and public safety responders were exceedingly fortunate. Had this event occurred 90 minutes earlier, children playing at a nearby day-care facility would have been injured. Had the event occurred three hours later, many more people would have been home, which would have added significantly to the life hazard. An assessment of the multi-agency response confirmed the value of interagency training, mutual aid, incident command and pre-planning.
Peter S. Beering is general counsel of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety, chief arson prosecutor for the Marion County Prosecutors Office and a 20-year firefighter with the Washington Township Fire Department. He is the only prosecutor in the United States who is also a Certified Fire Investigator.
