Report: 1 dead in Yarmouth blast

YARMOUTH

An apparent propane explosion leveled homes, woke people for miles and cut power to thousands this morning.

The blast — which occurred at 6:17 a.m. on Gables Drive, off North Road — was felt from Cape Elizabeth to Bailey Island and sent debris flying hundreds of feet. At least two homes may have been destroyed.

Peter Corey, 67, was killed, according to his brother Walter Corey, who owns the property where the blast occurred, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Photographer Donald Verger, who lives nearby in Falmouth, said he heard what sounded like an explosion just before 6:20 a.m. Tuesday. Verger said he was near the Boston Marathon finish line when those explosions rang out, and said the “concussive” sound he heard Tuesday morning was similar.

“I felt my whole house shake. I thought someone drove into my house,” said Read Thurston, who lives a half-mile from the explosion. “It felt like a bomb. My entire house shook.”

Brianne Johnston, who lives three-tenths of a mile away from the scene, was just leaving for work, her husband told the Bangor Daily News.

“My son and I were still asleep. The blast woke us both up, of course,” Jay Johnston said. “I thought our grill propane tank exploded it sounded that close. The whole house shook for about 10 seconds. It was very unsettling, it was so quiet right after. Then the police and fire sirens came right after.”

Mark Harlow, who lives a quarter mile away on Melissa Drive, was outside getting the mail when the blast rang out. “I felt the ground shake. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life,” he said.

Tanner Smith of Yarmouth Point, about a half-mile away, reported seeing “white, cotton-like stuff falling out of the sky. I found out later it was insulation.”

“This is devastating and I feel for the whole neighborhood,” said Steve Woods, chairman of Yarmouth Town Council. “We’re scheduled to have natural gas here in Yarmouth sometime in the next year, but there is no natural gas in this area. So there’s been some speculation that that could have been a factor [but it couldn’t have been]. At this point, all I know is that there’s been an explosion and the whole neighborhood’s devastated.”

Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland told reporters this morning the explosion occurred at a duplex housing unit. Yarmouth Police Chief Michael Morrill said two people were injured: one firefighter and one resident.

Several agencies sent aid to the scene, including Brunswick, Freeport and Topsham rescue units. The Portland Fire Department sent three ladder trucks, three engines and three ambulances.

The explosions were believed to be gas related but there was no official word on the cause this morning.

Central Maine Power Co. crews cut power to thousands of accounts in Cumberland, Freeport and Yarmouth that were due to be restored by 8 a.m., according to a recorded message at the utility’s hotline.

Municipal voting in Yarmouth has been moved from the American Legion post to the Town Hall because of traffic disruptions along North Road.

A Yarmouth police officer on scene said officials believe it was a gas explosion and said the state fire marshal’s office is on scene to investigate.

Passing neighbors who live just down the road said when they look outside their house this morning they saw what looked like a light snow or several dandelion seeds flying in the air, and realized it was ash. It was said some heard the explosion from Freeport. The windows were reportedly blown out of the front of the North Yarmouth fire station down the road from the site of the explosion.

Read Thurston, 20, was woken by the explosion this morning, said her grandmother who lives down the road from Gables Drive also had a window broken. Yet Cecil Ryder who lives a few driveways down from Gables Drive didn’t hear or feel an explosion. He knows two ladies who lives in that neighborhood but thinks they may be at their cottage on the ocean.

Thurston, who lives off North Road right before the railroad tracks, said “I heard it about 6:30 this morning, a big explosion. My house shook everywhere,” Thurston said. “I thought somebody had run into my house.”

She couldn’t get back to sleep so got on Facebook and was chatting with other people who said they’d heard the same thing.

“People said it was an explosion. I immediately got on the phone and tried to talk to my grandmother who lives right at the top of North Road,” and when she couldn’t get hold of her, went to her house to check on her.

The condominiums in Gables Drive are close together and share a joint garage area, Thurston said. She heard a propane tank exploded.

“One house I know is gone and one has damage to it,” Thurston added. “The local (fire) departments say everyone has been accounted for except for one person.”

Thurston doesn’t know anyone who lives in Gables Drive but she has been inside the homes there, which she guessed may have been built about 15 years ago. The condos are small, beautiful and easy to get around and well-suited for those age 60 and over, she said.
“It’s awful to have something like this happen this morning,” Thurston said. “I send my prayers and love to all those affected by it in there.”

A lifelong resident of Yarmouth where all her family grew up, Thurston called the explosion heart-wrenching.

“Everyone says Yarmouth is very boring and there is nothing ever going on here, and at 6:30 this morning on a normal Tuesday morning, this happens.”

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