Springfield MA Natural Gas Explosion Audio 11/23/12

Springfield MA Natural Gas Explosion Audio 11/23/12
The Explosion starts at about 9:30
The audio has been edited.
Audio used under a creative common license from Radioreference.com

[@MrsJaegermaster]

Thank you for sharing this. It's amazing to hear the emotion in the voices of everyone, yet not one person died during the incident and, while excited and terrifying, they kept everything under the best control that they could. Hats off to them all.

Wow!!! That's so crazy! I was in mercy hospital on the fifth floor! It felt like a plane crashed into the hospital followed by a earthquake!! The hospital shook so violently!!! Thank you Jesus nobody passed away!!

[@Wouter112]

Didn't know she was alone. Much respect for her trying to handle the situation alone (im a dispatcher myself, its hard work).

[@crazymotha2250]

My house is exactly one parking lot away I saw everything...felt everything...with my two kids and my wife we had no idea about a gas leak less than a block away..first a violent shake then BOOM...all my windows and doors blew in..it was crazy...

[@michaelgallant9483]

I remember this! My Mom and Dad Thought that Solutia had an accident, and our Pastor Thought one of the Steeples had fallen off our church! Then we turned on WWLP,and found out it was the Gas Explosion

[@elevatorproductionsbymaxpassa]

I was at my house in Downtown Easthampton when the gas explosion occurred and I didn't hear it.

[@matredsoxfan]

NO ONE WAS KILLED but 11 Firefighters, 2 police officers, 4 Gas co workers and 1 Water department worker along with 2 Civilians were injured. 3 Buildigns will need to be demolished and 15 others have been significantly damaged.

[@mikegallant811]

I think 1 chief officer from SFD(Springfield's Bravest)did suffer hearing damage.... I mean that freaking explosion was LOUD!

[@MrVWQ]

For training purposes, thank you for sharing this.

[@jawbreaker1222]

It rocked my house about 6 miles away. I though a car had slammed into it. I could feel it rip through my body. One of the loudest booms ive ever heard.

[@mikegallant811]

The Power Company Should either install a Main Breaker that SFD can access on all buildings,or should be able to cut power from their HQ!

[@mikegallant811]

I have Said it Before, and I'll say it again, Thank Christ that no one died!

[@command417]

there is always two dispatchers in the comm center at all times i also know that they have access to all the fireground ch what they consider tactical ch 5 ch 6 and tactical ch 3

[@cookieridergirl]

Drove by recently. Think they are finally building something where the building use to be. Ended up living around the corner for a bit 4 years later. Don’t live there anymore. But that area. You can still tell something happened. Vacant business all with shattered glass. Building next to it still completely boarded up. But I think it’s abandon at this point. So are most of the business around it. Idk if the stores were empty before the explosion due to the economy or if they left after because of the economy it wasn’t worth moving back in and fixing it. It was good thing the fire and police station was around the corner. They were able to respond fast I imagine.

[@NewEnglandBudo]

Having been there, done that, with a large Incident such as this with one dispatcher it can get very hectic.

[@Ifeelsosigma784]

you realize wmeco has nothing to do with the gas right?

[@mikegallant811]

But they could have prevented the explosion by cutting the power to certain stuff in the area of the gas leak!

[@philippespique5810]

This wasnt as worse as the explosion we had here in Indianapolis. 88 homes damages. 3 destroyed and 33 homes has to come down. 2 killed also. You can find the dispatch audio here on YouTubr somewhere.

[@mikegallant811]

Richmond Hill!

[@bkdlays]

This was not on 11/13 like the graphic say in the beginning

[@matredsoxfan]

Hey unlike emergency vehicle they have to sit in traffic and can't go around cars. So how ever fast traffic moves is how fast they get there.

[@mikegallant811]

They should be classed as emergency vehicles so they could go through red lights.

[@mikegallant811]

And around cars.

[@Tylerme27]

I saw it happen and my family felt it from west springfield 10 miles away

[@ramofusang390]

I was in Sixteen Acres and I felt it

[@mask2697]

on further research (a 5 second google search) it appears by some miracle no one got killed...

[@zappbravo]

She was not alone, there are always two fire dispatchers.

[@ChrispyMmBacon]

There certainly are, doesn’t mean the second dispatcher was there and available when all went down

[@mikegallant811]

For those who don't know, the building that exploded was a gentlemen's club(aka titty bar).

[@patrickmulligan7537]

Fire Gound Communications (on Scene Point to Point) Should Not Be on Repeater

[@GSP413]

The explosion somewhat reminds of the explosion of the WTC :(

[@michaelgallant9483]

The Cops Should Have Given WMECO an escort so they could have got there fast.

[@ramofusang390]

Yes but they needed WEMCO to cut the power to prevent the explosion but because they dragged their ass it went off this could have been prevented

[@LeopardGeckoProject]

I lived on Alvin st and we felt our house shake after a huge booooooom. Thought we were being bombed.

[@mikegallant811]

Thank Christ that no one died!

[@Arment24]

"Command.... WMECO is stating a half an hour ETA!" I guess that WMECO could not pull themselves away from the table and put the Turkey down fast enough! Western Mass Electric Company ABSOLUTLEY SUCKS!!!

[@mikegallant811]

The one fly in the ointment is that Electric company workers aren't classed as first responders and so have to drive like us regular people. If I was in gov. Baker's place, I would give eversource priority like first responders got.

[@patrickmulligan7537]

Dispatcher Should Control ALL Radio Traffic from oset of explosion message I can send NYFD membersTo show you How.

[@Wouter112]

A bit of panic in the voice of the dispatcher.

[@dv1267]

I don’t think she panicked. It was more of concern. She did fine. But I am sure you would have done so much better. Actually I bet you would have crapped yourself and hid under the console crying.

[@ramofusang390]

WMECO*

[@dogdeck]

9:32

[@DGarcia413]

I was there

[@iloveerika09]

So sad

[@mikegallant811]

No one died, although some folks were hurt(I think at least one FF had his hearing compromised).

[@mikegallant811]

Supposedly whoever was Chief 2 had hearing compromised.

[@mask2697]

Jesus christ, how bad was this fire, I don't even need to see statistics to guess that people died... Also the situation seemed to deteriorate in seconds from a stable situation to a mass casualty incident.

[@mikegallant811]

Thank God no black tags (i.e. deceased)!

[@mikegallant811]

Nobody deceased, but there were some injuries, including at least one firefighter had their hearing compromised,a lot of building damaged,some had to be condemned and torn down or repaired,some folks had to be relocated! But thankfully no deaths!

[@mikegallant811]

I believe the one who suffered hearing damage was a chief officer with SFD!