After Danvers blast, a flood of 911 calls

Recordings tell of fear, confusion

Dramatic 911 recordings released yesterday show how Danvers dispatchers were inundated by calls from frightened North Shore residents who heard or saw last week's predawn explosion at a chemical plant here.

Within minutes of the blast at about 2:45 a.m. last Wednesday, dispatchers were fielding hundreds of calls.

"We saw a huge flame go across the sky," reported a diner at a 24-hour restaurant in Danvers.

In professional tones, dispatchers tried to calm the callers and determine whether they were hurt. "Do you need an ambulance?" a dispatcher asked one frantic caller from Peabody.

The recordings indicate that Danvers public safety officials raced to the scene, fearing the worst. "Give me as many ambulances as you can down here. We have multiple injuries. We probably have four or five houses that had the back part of their building blown out," a firefighter said.

Miraculously, there were no deaths or major injuries related to the blast that destroyed the building shared by CAI Inc. , an ink manufacturer, and Arnel Co. Inc. , a maker of industrial paints. But the recordings offer a glimpse into the initial fright, and eventual devastation, that left hundreds of residents homeless.

So many calls came in to the Danvers Emergency Center that the two dispatchers on duty seemed at times to be overwhelmed. Three more dispatchers were called in.

"I'm calling from Beverly, Mass. I just heard a huge bang. . . . I'm in Beverly. There's been an explosion."

The response: "Yes, we have it. Thank you."

Yesterday, state investigators continued to comb the scene, looking for clues about the cause of the explosion, which damaged at least 70 homes and businesses. Also yesterday, investigators from the US Chemical Safety Board were allowed on the site, after a meeting at the US attorney's office in Boston ended a dispute over the federal panel's authority to investigate the explosion.

"All parties have agreed to cooperate in executing their different missions," the parties said in a joint statement released yesterday.

Reached by telephone, State Fire Marshal Steven Coan said investigators will return to the scene today, focusing on a specific part of the site. But they are still far from determining the cause of the blast, he said.

Yesterday, two more families returned to their homes, bringing to 14 the number of homes re-occupied since some 70 were evacuated. Many of the homes remain boarded up, but five more families are expected to return today, town manager Wayne P. Marquis said.

John Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com