The fire that destroyed buildings, cars, and boats at the Mattapoisett Boatyard on Friday was most likely caused by the ignition of gasoline vapors during the replacement of a boat’s gas tank, said Mattapoisett Fire Chief Andrew Murray and State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey.

            “Our hearts go out to the worker who was badly injured during last week’s fire and the family business that’s been a part of our community for 60 years,” said Chief Murray. “On behalf of the Town of Mattapoisett, I also want to recognize the efforts of our firefighters and our brother and sister firefighters and chiefs from across the region who rushed in to help. They defied the danger of a massive, wind-driven fire to prevent it from spreading further into the community and putting more people at risk.”

            The origin and cause of the fire were jointly investigated by the Mattapoisett Fire Department, Mattapoisett Police Department, and State Police Fire & Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office. That investigation determined that the fire began inside a building at 32 Ned’s Point Road, where a worker had been replacing a boat’s gas tank. Investigators believe that a spark ignited gasoline vapors during this process, causing an explosion and fire that seriously injured the worker, an adult male. The fire was fed by winds of up to 25 miles per hour coming in off the water and spread to nearby buildings, vehicles, and boats. In addition to the worker who was injured, three firefighters suffered injuries related to smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion. All four were transported from the scene for medical care; the worker remains hospitalized and is expected to survive, and the firefighters have been released.

            “We’re extremely fortunate that Friday’s fire didn’t cause more injuries or worse,” said State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey. “Nearly 900 fires have started with gasoline in Massachusetts over the past 10 years, causing nine deaths and almost $20 million in damages. Many of us use gasoline in our daily lives, but we can’t lose sight of the fire and explosion hazard associated with it. Gasoline vapors can travel a great distance to an ignition point, especially indoors.”

            After receiving multiple 9-1-1 calls reporting explosions at about 1:20 pm, the Mattapoisett Fire Department responded to the scene to find heavy fire that spread to 6 buildings, 47 vehicles and 14 boats. The fire reached six alarms, drawing mutual aid from across southeastern Massachusetts and additional task forces through the Statewide Fire Mobilization Plan. In total, more than 100 firefighters battled the fire with 19 engines, 12 tankers, 3 fireboats, and 2 ladder trucks before knocking it down around 6:00 pm. “This highly coordinated and collaborative effort allowed us to contain the fire to the boatyard property and save all of the surrounding homes and structures,” said Chief Murray. The Department of Fire Services deployed an Incident Support Unit to assist incident commanders, a Rehab Unit to support firefighters at the scene, a Drone Unit to gather aerial imagery, a Hazmat team to monitor air quality at the fire ground, and State Police fire investigators to work with local officials. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, Department of Environmental Protection, several area harbormasters, and the Coast Guard also responded to the scene.

Mattapoisett Fire Department Press Release

Member Shaun Walsh reported to the Marion Conservation Commission during its August 10 public meeting on the flooding problem at 112-114 Point Road, where he and Conservation Agent Doug Guey-Lee had met on August 8 with the property owner and Department of Public Works Director Nathaniel Munafo.

            The group observed that a swale on submitted plans with a 2014 NOI is no longer evident, and the “very heavily vegetated area” on town-owned property at the site is considered the town’s responsibility for maintenance.

            According to Walsh, the sloping roadway has created a channel alongside the road, but a buildup of sediment in that channel is keeping runoff water out of the swale and on the road. So the solution will be to create a couple of new channels from the road down into the swale to provide an outlet for storm runoff.

            The DPW will clear-cut the vegetation for a clear look at the problem and then reassess the need to make a channel for stormwater that has been collecting on Point Road. Walsh said it may be determined that the driveway is contributing to the runoff, in which case the property owner may need to consider other measures to mitigate the current conditions.

            Walsh said any trench digging that the DPW needs to do will be on land subject to coastal-storm flowage and therefore not applicable to wetlands boundaries.

            John Hartwell filed a Request for Determination of Applicability for the removal of an existing tree due to concerns about the root system and to install a 12×9-foot shed at 63 East Avenue on Planting Island.

            In the public hearing, Hartwell told the commission that Arne Excavation “was supposed to” remove the tree in 2018 but after preparation to install a septic system did not remove the tree. The roots, Hartwell suspects, are tending toward the septic system. Part of his application is to also put up a shed.

            Conservation Commission Chairman Jeff Doubrava, who lives two doors down, recused himself from judgment or comment on the case.

            Walsh and fellow commissioner Emil Assing called it a straightforward project. Assing noted that the septic system was installed in a different location than what was on the site plan. He said the applicant might have to shift the shed seaward by 1 or 2 feet and deal with erosion control. Hartwell confirmed that his plan is to use 3-foot footings, driving the tree stump.

            Assigned to formulate a motion, Assing called Hartwell’s application a buffer-zone project and concluded that since the work is within the buffer zone, it is subject to the Wetlands Act but will not alter the area and therefore will not require a Notice of Intent.

            The commissioners voted a Negative Box 2 and 3 Determination. Any movement of the shed by no more than a couple of feet to complete the project will not require more than notification to the town.

            Mariano and Leah Garcia-Blanco filed an Abbreviated Notice of Resource Area Delineation for property at 18 Sippican Lane.

            In the public hearing, Brian Grady from G.A.F. Engineering called the property an unusual site and considers the isolated wetland areas at the site a result on construction activity in nonjurisdictional areas. Grady said the plan is not to move the house but make a small addition on the south side and possibly a detached garage adjacent to a relocated tennis court.

            Commissioner Marc Bellanger motioned for a vote to acknowledge an accurate drawing of the resource area of delineation on the map. He said he sees no need for an appendix. The commissioners agreed and unanimously voted their approval.

            The commissioners also voted to extend by three years the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection’s permit to perform maintenance on the drainage system on Routes 6, 105 and 195.

            The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, August 24, at 7:00 pm.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Mick Colageo

The August 15 meeting agenda of the Mattapoisett Planning Board was deftly handled with nothing in the way of public matters being heard. However, the board did discuss weighty matters that are pending resolution.

            One such matter was the long anticipated Solar Bylaw. Acting Chairman Nathan Ketchel said that meetings with selected interested parties had taken place and that former member and Planning Board point person for the drafting of a new bylaw, Janice Robbins, was still volunteering her time in an effort to craft language acceptable to the town for inclusion in a fall 2022 Town Meeting Warrant.

            Ketchel said language regarding zoning-area restrictions for the placement of solar arrays have been removed and some “procedural” text that spoke to decommissioning bonds and stormwater-maintenance bonds have been added or modified. Public hearings will be announced in advance of Town Meeting, it was noted.

            Another matter being discussed on Monday night was the issue of defective workmanship and the need for repairs, improvements and completion of roadway construction on Split Rock Lane, a neighborhood within the Bay Club boundaries.

            Previously residents of the lane had come forward seeking the board’s assistance in getting corrective actions taken by the developer for a roadway that only had a binder covering and which had evidenced failures including the collapsing of asphalt berms.

            Ketchel said that some of the photographic proof of construction defects as presented by members Arlene Fidalgo and Karen Field were construction practices used during the preliminary work in building a permanent roadway, but other photos were concerning. Ketchel said the developer needs to work with an independent consultant working on behalf of the town, but that currently was not in place. He also said the developer should present a punch list with a timeline for actionable to-do’s. The matter will be revisited at the next meeting.

            David Andrews, representing the Bay Club on the matter of roadway completion, lot release and a cash bond met with the board briefly. Andrews said a recalculation of monies needed for a roadway bond now that Lot 48 has been released showed a $60,000 gap. He said he would return to the board at the next meeting with a covenant that would include the adjusted bond amount.

            The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for Monday, September 19, at 7:00 pm.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell