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Four injured after explosion at Middleton chemical plant

Print | Comments () Posted by Erica Noonan March 13, 2011 08:16 PM

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By Taylor S. Gearhart, Aaron Lester, and Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondents

MIDDLETON -- Four employees are reported injured following an explosion and fire at a Middleton chemical plant.

The victims were plant employees according to Frank Twiss, Middleton's fire chief. Their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

Firefighters from across the region, along with state police and emergency management officials, spent more than two hours battling the blaze at 211 Boston St., listed as owned by the Bostik Company, an adhesive and sealant manufacturer.

Beverly Peterson, who lives near the plant, said in a telephone interview that she heard "a big bang" about five minutes before 8 p.m.

“We’re really concerned," she said. "And we saw a bunch of ambulances head down toward the plant, but we weren’t sure if the explosion was coming from there or not.”

“My husband was trying to go over there because our son-in-law, works [at the plant]. He said he couldn’t get through because they blocked off the street going that way. Our daughter has called her husband but hasn’t been able to get through.”

State police officials said Route 62 and Russell Street in Middleton are currently closed to traffic.

The plant is located near the Middleton, Peabody and Lynnfield town lines. Neighbors reported a strong chemical smell in the air in the area surrounding the plant, but have not been evacuated.

Nancy Jones, a Middleton selectman, said she heard the blast at her home, located 1.5 miles away from the plant.

Her husband, an off-duty Middleton police officer, was called into work immediately, she said.

“This is not good situation. Several people were transported to the hospital,” Jones said.

Calls to the company's corporate headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisc., and to the Middleton plant offices were not immediately returned.

Hazardous material response teams from the State Police were at the scene. Victims were being treated at a decontamination tent at Beverly Hospital, according to Dep. Chief William Walsh of the Beverly Fire Department.

Globe correspondent Bella Travaglini and John M. Guilfoil of the Globe staff contributed to this report.