Sept. 13, 2018, is a day that residents of the Merrimack Valley will never forget. Explosions and fires rocked the cities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, killed one man and seriously injured more than a dozen others.
Leonel Rondon, 18, died when a chimney fell on top of his parked car. About 8,000 people were displaced after more than 100 homes burned.
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The disaster was pinned on utility company Columbia Gas and its mismanagement of underground natural gas lines in the Merrimack Valley. In 2020, Columbia lost a lawsuit launched by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, forcing the utility company to pay more than $56 million in fines and promise to never operate in the Bay State again.
Now the largest fine ever issued under the Federal Pipeline Safety Act, Columbia Gas also settled a class action lawsuit for $143 million brought by victims of the Merrimack Valley gas explosions. While 11,000 people received compensation, many others are still waiting for their checks.
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Every year since the tragedy an award is presented in the memory of Rondon. This year it will be given to the Lawrence Fire Department, along with a donation that will go toward fire and explosion prevention efforts. Rondon's family said they're forever grateful to those first responders.
The public was invited to attend a vigil held in Rondon's honor Monday afternoon at Leonel A. Rondon Square in Lawrence.
