A fiery gas explosion demolished a building and injured ten people in Wappingers Falls on Thursday afternoon, November 2.
According to a Central Hudson spokesperson, a company contractor hit a gas line. “It was part of routine maintenance,” said the spokesperson. “We were in the process of replacing the gas main.”
Central Hudson spokesman Joseph Jenkins has confirmed that a worker for Saugerties contractor J. Mullen and Sons was working on the gas line at the time of the mishap.
At 12:14 p.m., Dutchess County 911 received a call of a reported gas leak in the Brick Row area. Fire and police units were immediately dispatched to the scene.
At 12:16 p.m. workers at the Southern Dutchess News seven blocks away were said to have heard a boom before the electricity cut out inside the print shop.
First responders from the police department arrived at 12:17. They encountered two children and a mother with severe blast injuries and burns, and behind them a devastated and burnt structure still ablaze.
First responders moved quickly to establish a triage center at the near intersection of Mill and High streets, while the fire department worked to extinguish the fire. One company worker trapped under the rubble was also freed. Ten victims suffered blast and burn injuries.
“We brought them to the triage area,” said Wappinger Falls police commissioner Paul Italiano, “where they awaited ambulance arrival.”
Several of the victims in critical condition were taken by medivac helicopter to the Level One and pediatric trauma center at Westchester Medical Center at Valhalla. Seven were being treated there and one at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital. Five first responders were also treated and released.
When night fell in Wappingers Falls, with temperatures hovering near freezing, Central Hudson workers were able to restore electricity to all customers who had experienced outages. “Nearly all impacted natural gas customers will be restored by the end of the night,” a Central Hudson statement said. “For those without service, we will work with the Red Cross and village officials to provide lodging.”
Eight of the ten victims injured by the explosion remain at the Westchester Medical Center. Their ages range from eight to 59.
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