A large gas explosion occurred in the Northwest District neighborhood of Portland, Oregon at NW 23rd Avenue and NW Glisan Street on October 19, 2016. Nearby excavation caused a natural gas leak that triggered the explosion, which injured eight people and caused property damages totaling $17.2 million. The Oregon Public Utilities Commission determined the cause to be inadequate notification by the contractor, Loy Clark Pipeline. In total, 13 buildings were damaged, including the total destruction of the Alfred C. F. Burkhardt House, built in 1906 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Details
The accident occurred while Loy Clark Pipeline was installing a junction box in a sidewalk for Comcast at NW 23rd Avenue and NW Glisan Street. When the excavator hit the pipe, it did not break the pipe, but pulled it out of a valve some distance away. This caused the gas to travel under the sidewalk and fill into the basement of 500 NW 23rd Avenue which ultimately exploded.. The obliterated building was called the Alfred C. F. Burkhardt House and it was put was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. The Oregon Public Utility Commission concluded "Insufficient Notice to the Oregon Utility Notification Center by Loy Clark Pipeline Co" as the root cause. Asbestos was found in the debris two days after the explosion. The building had an abatement work done in 1990, but it did not include the roofing, which contained 35% asbestos. At 8:55 AM, an excavator called NW Natural, the local gas company, after he hit and dislodged a natural gas line. NW Natural responded to fix the leak but decided to call the Portland Fire & Rescue because they found "dangerously high levels of natural gas". A limited amount of firefighters showed up and Battalion Chief Scott Beyers made the call to evacuate the businesses and residences near the intersection where the leak occurred. The blast which occurred around 9:38AM follow reports of strong gas odor. Eight were injured in total. Three firefighters and two police officers were among the injured. The building that the gas leak occurred in was destroyed and contained Portland Bagel Works, Fetch Eyewear, and Artwork Rebels Tattoo Parlor. Other businesses also affected by the explosion include Pizzicato, Dosha Salon, FedEx Office, and Umpqua Bank. After this, hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and paramedics responded. People nearby reported nonstop sirens for at least 10 minutes and cop cars, fire trucks, and ambulances every 5 seconds. Hospitals and Emergency Services went into "mass-casualty mode" and prepared for the worst. The nearby Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center went without power in 4 buildings. 2,500 customers lost electricity after the incident. About 420 students at Metropolitan Learning Center, many of whom were in the process of taking their PSAT tests, were evacuated and transported to the Portland Public Schools headquarters as a precaution. KATU reported that Loy Clark Pipeline had six OSHA violations in five years leading up to the accident. Loy Clark Pipeline was founded in 1957 and it is a part of Bismarck, North Dakota based MDU Construction Services Group, Inc
Aftermath
In 2018, ten lawsuits were filed against Loy Clark Pipeline, the company responsible for the blast. A building was completely destroyed and eight people were injured. Among them is a dental hygienist who was hit by shards of glass who has filed a lawsuit for $689,000 against Loy Clark Pipeline. The owners of the building at 520-526 NW 23rd Avenue has also named Comcast and Bremik Construction in addition to Loy Clark Pipeline in their lawsuit for "not properly vetting Loy Clark before hiring the contractor." For this incident, The Oregonian reports that OSHA fined Tualatin, Oregon based Loy Clark Pipeline $4,900 for this incident and noted they dug on the north side of NW 23rd Avenue even though their notification was for digging on the south side. The American Red Cross set up a shelter for people displaced by the explosion. Then Portland MayorCharlie Hales said in a press conference that "it's a miracle no one was killed". The Oregonian reported in December 2019 that two additional businesses Portland Bagelworks and Dosha SalonSpa have filed lawsuits.
