Explosion, deaths at MDM Muzzleloader in Colebrook

[Pat McCotter]

Blasts at N.H. ammunition plant kill 2; explosions persist 2 hours
By Lisa Rathke
Associated Press / May 15, 2010

COLEBROOK, N.H. — Multiple explosions at a gun and ammunition manufacturing plant in northern New Hampshire killed two people yesterday, shook buildings blocks away, filled the sky with black smoke, and forced the evacuation of dozens of homes.

State Fire Marshal J. William Degnan confirmed the deaths at the MDM Muzzleloader building in Colebrook. He said the two victims, along with another person who received minor injuries, were the only people in the building at the time.

The blasts started just after 1 p.m., said Mia West, public information officer in Colebrook. Firefighters initially were unable to get close enough to fight the blaze because ammunition was still going off more than two hours later, she said.

At Colebrook Elementary School, paraprofessional Saralyn Boutin thought she heard thunder, but after the second boom, "I was hanging onto the desk.''

Boutin, 28, said some students in the eighth-grade classroom were crying. Hours later, she was heading to her mother's house to spend the night because her own street was blocked off. Some of her neighbors' homes had windows blown out, she said.

Degnan said the fire continued to burn more than four hours after the explosion was reported, and that it was too soon to determine the cause.

"We're just getting into the investigation and trying to determine the details,'' he said.

About 40 homes were evacuated, though some residents were allowed to return late yesterday evening. Some residents heard the explosion 1 1/2 miles away, West said. Displaced residents were offered accommodations in nearby Dixville Notch.

Several communities in New Hampshire and Vermont sent fire crews.

John Gannon, 47, of Cambridge, was visiting a friend when the apartment shook from yesterday's blast. "It felt like a truck blew up outside,'' he said, adding that he was sorry to hear that two people were killed.

Colebrook is about 10 miles from the Canadian border.

[Pat K]

Yikes!

[KBCraig]

Videos and pictures:

http://www.colebrookchronicle.com

[Pat McCotter]

Official: Machine was origin of NH explosions
(AP) – May 15, 2010

COLEBROOK, N.H. — The investigation into a series of explosions at a gun and ammunition manufacturing plant in far northern New Hampshire that killed two people has led to one machine, the state's fire marshal said Saturday.

Bill Degnan said that the investigation into Friday's explosions at the MDM Muzzleloader building has led to a machine in the manufacturing section of the plant. He said no cause has been determined.

About half of the plant was heavily damaged by the explosions that killed two men and hurt another, shook buildings for blocks away and forced the evacuation of dozens of homes, Degnan said.

The building, located in an industrial park in Colebrook, will be closed "for an extensive period of time," he said.

The explosions happened in an area where there was some manufacturing taking place, Degnan said. He said investigators were learning what materials were in use. They were told the plant makes gunpowder.

"We actually have some hazardous materials that we're dealing with," Degnan said, adding that crews worked Saturday to make the area safe for investigators.

State police, representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were also at the scene Saturday.

The New Hampshire Union Leader reported Sunday that the state Fire Marshal's Office identified one of the two workers killed in the explosion as Jesse Kennett, 49, of Stratford. The newspaper said the identity of the second worker was being withheld pending positive identification.

Min Kennett, town clerk in Northumberland and Jesse Kennett's sister-in-law, told the newspaper that he was proud of his family and loved the Great North Woods. She said he went to work at the plant several months ago after he lost his job at the Ethan Allen factory in Beecher Falls, Vt., when that plant shut down last summer.

The explosions Friday afternoon filled the sky with black smoke. Mia West, the town's public information officer, said firefighters were unable to get close enough because ammunition was still going off more than two hours later.

About 40 nearby homes were evacuated. All residents were allowed to return Friday night, Degnan said.

Colebrook is about 140 miles north of the capital city of Concord and 10 miles from the Canadian border.