Date: Fri 25-Dec-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Ashlar-construction-blast

Full Text:

Construction Blast Damages Ashlar

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

A construction blast gone awry sent a barrage of boulders and soil hurtling

toward Ashlar of Newtown December 15, pummeling the occupied Toddy Hill Road

nursing home with debris, breaking seven windows and sending glass flying into

the building. There were no injuries, according to fire officials.

Ashlar, a Masonicare facility, is undergoing expansion and renovation,

including the construction of Lockwood Lodge, an assisted living center.

About 9:30 am December 15, David Huckel, 28, of Westbrook, a blaster for

Shoreline Blasting of Branford, set off about 28 pounds of explosives in nine

blast holes in an area behind the original section of Ashlar, according to

fire officials.

A five-foot-thick layer of soil and two steel-and-rubber blasting mats had

been placed over the explosives, but instead of the charges simply shattering

the rock ledge and lifting it upward beneath the blasting mats, the shattered

rocks were ejected out from the edge of the mats nearest Ashlar, causing a

wave of debris to strike the wall and roof of the three-story brick building.

The roof of Ashlar was about 100 feet from the blast site.

"One of the shots went wild," explained Fire Marshal George Lockwood.

Mr Lockwood said the presence of standing water in the hole where the

explosives were ignited may have contributed to the malfunction.

"No one got injured, thank God," Mr Lockwood said. "It very seldom happens,"

he said of the errant construction blast.

The jagged rocks ejected from beneath the blasting mats were about 4 to 5

inches in diameter, he said. He estimated that about 100 such rocks went

flying toward the nursing home. The blast site was about 35 feet from the wall

of the nursing home, he said.

"It could have been very serious," Mr Lockwood said.

Many of the rocks landed on the building's roof, causing damage to its gravel

surface, he said.

An administrative hearing will be held at the state fire marshal's office to

investigate the cause of the accident, he said.

After the accident, blasting work was stopped for the day. It resumed the next

day with a different man doing the blasting, Mr Lockwood said.

It appears that all steps to ensure blasting safety were taken, according to

the fire marshal.

Stormer

Deputy Fire Marshal Henry Stormer, who also is a detective sergeant in the

police department, is assisting Mr Lockwood in the investigation.

The blasting incident was definitely accidental in nature, Mr Stormer said.

The accident may have been due to site conditions and due to the use of too

much explosive, he said. The state fire marshal will determine the cause of

the accident, he said.

The accident has become a blasting licensing issue for the state fire

marshal's office because it is a violation of state construction blasting

regulations, Mr Stormer said.

The force of the blast sent jagged rocks through windows on all three levels

of the nursing home, Mr Stormer said. One rock traveled through a second story

window with such force that it damaged an interior wall, he said.

Thankfully, no one was inside the building near the windows which shattered,

he said.

"There could have been a serious tragedy, the way the shot hit and the debris

flew," he said.

As precaution before the blasting, patients in rooms near the blast site had

been moved from their rooms, Mr Stormer said.

The flying debris also damaged a pickup truck parked at Ashlar.