Thursday, 4:30 PM
Danvers blast probe results to be announced
By Globe Staff
State investigators today plan to announce the results of a nearly six-month investigation of an explosion at an ink-and-paint factory in Danvers last November that damaged some 70 houses and businesses and left hundreds homeless.
State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan will hold a press conference at Danvers Fire Department headquarters to discuss the results of the inquiry, which included local and federal officials.
The explosion at 2:45 a.m. Nov. 22 reverberated as far away as Maine and registered on the Richter scale at the Weston Observatory, but miraculously, no one was seriously injured or killed. The blast leveled the Water Street building used by CAI Inc., an ink manufacturer, and Arnel Co. Inc., a custom paint maker.
On Wednesday, the US Chemical Safety Board plans to announce its findings at a community meeting in Danvers. In a preliminary report released in February, federal investigators determined that the explosion was likely caused by flammable solvents in a tank filled with 2,000 gallons of printing ink ingredients.
Factory employees had filled the tank the day before the explosion and vapors likely built up overnight and sparked the blast, investigators said.
The explosion caused millions of dollars in damage and resulted in more than 200 insurance claims by homeowners and businesses. It cost the federal Environmental Protection Agency $1.3 million to clear hazardous debris from the blast site.
