SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A natural-gas explosion in one of New England’s biggest cities Friday leveled a strip club and heavily damaged a dozen other buildings but didn’t kill anyone, authorities said.
Firefighters, police officers and gas company workers already in the area because of a report of a gas leak and gas odor were among the 18 people injured in the blast, authorities said.
“This is a miracle on Worthington Street that no one was killed,” Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said at a news conference.
The explosion in a downtown area of Springfield, 90 miles west of Boston, blew out all windows in a three-block radius, leaving three buildings irreparably damaged and prompting emergency workers to evacuate a six-story apartment building that was buckling, police said.
Police Sgt. John Delaney marveled at the destruction at the blast’s epicenter, where a multistory building housing a Scores Gentleman’s Club was leveled.
“It looks like there was a missile strike here,” he said.
The victims were taken to two hospitals in the city. None of their injuries was considered life-threatening, officials said. Those hurt were nine firefighters, two police officers, four Columbia Gas of Massachusetts workers, two civilians and another city employee.
Firefighters responded to the scene at 4:20 p.m. and were investigating the gas leak when the blast happened about one hour later. The cause of the explosion hadn’t been identified but was under investigation, they said.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 11/24/2012