FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, Sept. 14, 2018

Media contact: John Guilfoil
Email: john@jgpr.net
Phone: 617-993-0003

Andover Public Safety Officials Provide Update on Gas Emergency

More than Half of Affected Streets Cleared

Significant Progress being Made

ANDOVER — Town Manager Andrew P. Flanagan, Police Chief Patrick Keefe and Fire Chief Michael B. Mansfield would like to provide an update to the community regarding the ongoing response to yesterday’s gas emergency.  More than half of the Andover streets in the affected zone have been cleared, and those residents can now return home.

The Town of Andover was notified by Eversource Energy within the past hour that, of the 2,078 affected gas meters in Andover, 1,110 of them have now been shut down and cleared. A total of 40 streets have been added this hour to the “Cleared” list.

Town officials have updated the list of cleared streets on the Town website. To view that list, click here.

Residents in the “cleared” zone may return home immediately, but please note that you may not have gas service for some time. 

More than 100 teams of gas technicians, police officers, and firefighters are working in Andover at this time.

National Grid has informed the Town that it expects to have electrical service restored to nearly all customers within 24 hours.

Residents whose homes are on the clear list, but whose gas was shut off as a precaution, should NOT attempt to turn their gas back on. Eversource crews will restore service when it is safe to do so, and residents should wait for Eversource to restore their service. 

Eversource crews, in close cooperation with Andover Police and Fire personnel, are going door to door to shut off meters and ensure homes and businesses are safe to occupy. Crews will be working around the clock to complete this process. Once that work is completed, electricity will be restored to the impacted areas.

The Cormier Youth Center remains open as a receiving center for displaced residents. 

“We are working diligently to make sure that every Andover family can return home safely, and we are very pleased with the progress that Eversource has made since taking over this process yesterday afternoon,” Town Ma nager Flanagan said. “Most importantly, I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of our residents for their patience, resilience, and teamwork in coming together during this challenging week.”

“I am pleased to report that significant progress has been made toward securing the gas meters and rendering all homes safe in the affected zone,” Chief Keefe said. “I want to thank our residents for their patience, and I would like to express my own gratitude to the many town employees who have worked tirelessly this week.”

The Town of Andover also wishes to express its utmost gratitude and admiration to the police officers and firefighting crews that came to Andover to render aid. These crews came from as far away as Easton, Worcester, Auburn, Milbury, and throughout New Hampshire. At peak on Thursday, more than 450 municipal police officers and firefighters from other communities were working in Andover.

There is no definite timetable for complete restoration of gas service, but officials hope to report significant progress throughout the weekend. 

Updates will be made at www.andoverma.gov and on the town’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.

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