NORTH ANDOVER (CBS) — The North Andover Town Manager’s office is asking for volunteers to donate their time and help out at the Columbia Gas Claims Center. The claims center opens Wednesday at 115 Main Street.

It will be open weekdays (except for Monday) from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m..

Anyone who wants to volunteers should call the town manager’s office at 978-688-9510.

Town Manager Andrew Maylor also tweeted that visiting North Andover businesses struggling to recover from the Merrimack Valley explosions would be a good way to help the community.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 144 gas meters in the non-impacted part of North Andover still needed to be turned on. Initially, that number was 1832, according to Maylor.

LAWRENCE (CBS) – As gas safety expert Bob Ackley drove around the Merrimack Valley Thursday, he was struck by what he did not see. “I don’t see any work being done,” he told WBZ.

Columbia Gas announced it has restored gas to more than 8,000 people outside the directly affected area, but on the streets most profoundly impacted, the only work in sight was a demolition crew taking down the home where a teenager lost his life in an explosion last week.

Columbia Gas crew working in Lawrence (Image credit Lawrence PD)

“As I drove around North Andover and Andover, I saw no work being done. I’m in Lawrence now. I don’t see any work being done,” said Ackley.

He said Columbia’s new plan to replace 48 miles of aging gas lines with new safer ones in a matter of weeks, may not be realistic. “It’s just going to be a really long, tedious process to get that done,” Ackley said. “I’m not seeing any work and we’re in day six or seven now. We’d like to see some movement getting these mains in.”

Governor Charlie Baker steered clear of a hard timeline as he met with small business owners in North Andover. “You want to move quickly on this, but you want to make sure the people doing the work are the people who have the right credentials, and the right certifications, and the right skill sets to do it, and amassing those people takes a few days,” Baker said.

Home destroyed on Chickering Road in Lawrence by gas explosion (WBZ-TV)

In Andover, crews set up portable showers for those without hot water, but as much as residents long for a return to basic comforts, they’re also worried about the fix.

“If they’re going do a rush job, can you trust them?” asked Linda Garcia.

“I’m afraid there are going to be more explosions soon as they turn it back on,” said Fred Pietrowski.

Governor Baker said he’s confident the state can provide oversight to make sure the work is done safely, and said a schedule will be announced soon.

LAWRENCE (CBS) – Columbia Gas said Friday it hopes to have service fully restored to all customers by Nov. 19 after last week’s gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley.  That news came as the governor announced that thousands of hot plates and space heaters will be handed out to impacted residents and businesses this weekend.

Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters at a late morning news conference that crews will be working over the next several days to provide the appliances and assistance to more than 8,600 impacted households and businesses.

“Everyone’s top priority is safety. The team has devised a plan to meet all levels of safety,” Baker said.

NiSource President and CEO Joe Hamrock said Friday that Columbia Gas hopes to have service restored to all homes and businesses by Nov. 19, the first time the company announced an estimated date.  NiSource is the parent company of Columbia Gas.

Columbia Gas crews repairing damaged lines in Lawrence. (WBZ-TV)

That two-month wait has Emilio Nardozza worried.

“What would you do if you were living here?” he told WBZ-TV on Friday.

His neighbor, Joe Howshan, says he’ll manage. He is now boiling water on the grill for his bathtub.

“You gotta add an extra 15 minutes to a half-hour to your morning,” he said.

Starting on Saturday, impacted residents in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover will be provided with electric appliances and hot plates, Baker said.

On Monday, crews will be installing space heaters in homes and on Wednesday, crews will begin assessing damage at residences and workplaces, with plumbers and electricians determining which appliances will be replaced or repaired, the governor said.

Baker said he expects approximately 2,000 meters on the impacted gas line will be brought back to service in the next few weeks.

Joe Albanese. (WBZ-TV)

Moving forward, Joe Albanese, a retired captain of the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps, has been charged with overseeing the gas pipeline restoration project.

Albanese, who has worked as a Naval contractor in the Middle East among other assignments, is the founder and CEO of Commodore Construction in Massachusetts. As chief recovery officer for the Merrimack Valley project, Albanese will be responsible for command control and communications.

“Within two weeks, meters will begin to be energized,” Albanese said Friday.

Columbia Gas said previously that a shorter timeline was possible as it works to replace 48 miles of aging pipes and infrastructure.

On Friday, Baker said crews are working around the clock to restore the region.

“While the road to recovery is long, the team has made progress,” Baker said.

LAWRENCE (CBS) – Just hours after a November completion date was announced, Columbia Gas crews went door to door, starting to get it done one home at a time.

For Lawrence families, it hasn’t been the easy to return home.

“Coming back it was kind of scary because the house blew up just across,” Joanirelys Rrodriguez said.

Rodriguez, who is in 8th grade helps her 7-year-old sister get ready for school. She says she keeps reassuring her that this won’t be for too long and things will go back to normal.

With no gas though, these day-to-day routines have been a little different. “It’s been a little challenging yes for instance we have to fill the tub with cold water and we boil hot water to make sure it’s doable for the kids,” Jazmin Molina said.

“It wakes me up when I get in, I’m ready for a warm shower then it hits my back and I’m like oh no,” Gabriela Molina added.

Eight days after over pressurized mains caused dozens of fires and explosions that took the life of a teenager, the governor announced a plan and an end date.

Crews will install 48 miles of new pipeline bringing service back to 8,600 homes and buildings.

That date, November 19th but these neighbors, are taking care of one another in the meantime, going from house to house to see what the needs are.

“I’m the president of our neighborhood association so I have developed a sheet so we are going to go door to door to people seeing where the needs are. A lot of people mostly it’s a lot of ‘I don’t have a hot shower,’ so I’ve been directing them to the Y,” Susan Laplante said.

One thing is keeping these families positive: Hope.

“Hope is what keeps us going maybe tomorrow they will turn it on you see people getting it little by little getting their gas back on,” Molina said.

Tonight, that hope came through in the best way for some.

“We have gas now!” Molina said to her daughter. “Nothing but warm showers for you!”

Starting Saturday hot plates will be distributed in the neighborhoods affected. Monday, about 24,000 space heaters will arrive and will be installed in homes.

LAWRENCE (CBS) — The National Guard delivered electric hot plates door-to-door in Lawrence to the homes still without gas services on Saturday. Some homes and businesses may not have gas until Nov. 19, when Columbia Gas is expected to finish the restoration work needed after a gas pipeline burst last week.

Massachusetts National Guardsmen and Columbia Gas workers loaded up trucks and then delivered the hot plates to residents.

Massachusetts National Guardsmen loading hot plates onto trucks on Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (WBZ-TV)

Residents said they’re grateful.

“It’s a great day because I can finally cook some food, with this iron burner, so I am very excited. Still kind of cold without the heat and water. Cold showers,” said Jennifer DeJesus of Lawrence.

“I appreciate this,” one man said.

Amber Cook, a mother of four, said she’d grateful for the help.

“I’m just happy. I have four kids upstairs so with them helping, being to be able to cook for my kids, is a big thing,” Cook said.

A Massachusetts National Guardsman delivers a hot plate to a Lawrence home. (WBZ-TV)

Anyone without gas or impacted by the gas explosions was able to receive a hot plate.

“They have electricity. People are home. They’re safe, but they don’t have a way to cook, so we are going to deal with that today,” said Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera.

Massachusetts National Guard Adjunct Gen. Gary Keefe said the effort is “neighbors helping neighbors.”

“Although we are wearing a uniform, these are our neighbors, these are our family members and we are here to help them. That’s one of the missions we in the Guard really love doing,” Keefe said.

According to Gov. Charlie Baker, about 7,000 hot plates will be delivered through those in need. Throughout the week, space heaters will follow.

Columbia Gas will ultimately have to replace 48 miles of pipeline in the area.

According to the Associated Press, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue says it will waive all penalties associated with taxes due between Sept. 12 and Oct 2 for taxpayers in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover.

ANDOVER (CBS) — Columbia Gas was forced to postpone their work on venting the natural gas system in Andover and North Andover Tuesday due to expected rain. Instead, the gas company plans to vent on Wednesday.

“This is a routine and safe procedure to ensure any residual gas is removed from the natural gas lines prior to crews beginning work. Venting will occur throughout the restoration process,” Columbia Gas wrote on Facebook.

Columbia Gas warned residents that they may smell gas or hear loud noises during the venting. First responders and utility crews will be out in the street and it could affect traffic. “If you ever suspect a leak, stop what you’re doing, leave the area and call 911 and Columbia Gas from a safe place.”

The impacted areas in Andover will be the intersection of Essex and Brook Streets, the intersection of Phillips and Main Streets, and the intersection of Elm and Pine Streets.

The impacted area in North Andover is the intersection of Chickering, Pleasant and Russell Streets.

On Tuesday, Andover and North Andover residents can also begin scheduling an electrical assessment for their home to determine whether it is safe for a space heater. If the home passes the inspection, Columbia Gas will provide one space heater. Call 1-855-218-8816 between 8 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or between 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday to schedule an appointment.

Columbia Gas is working to find an accurate number of homes that are not suitable for space heaters before they provide a heating solution in those homes.

The National Guard and volunteers are passing out space heaters to residents in the Merrimack Valley without gas (WBZ-TV | Lisa Gresci)

The National Guard went door-to-door in Lawrence to deliver space heaters Monday, and over the weekend, they did the same with hot plates.

Andover temporarily ran out of hot plates, so residents are encouraged to call Columbia Gas to be put on a waiting list. Hot plates in Lawrence can be picked up at the Property Claims Center from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m..

Andover Fire Chief Michael Mansfield gave safety tips for hot plate use after a fire Monday night: keep a one-foot radius all around your hot plate when cooking with it, never put out a grease fire with water, always keep a cover for your pan ready so that you can cover it should the oil overheat.

A kitchen fire on Main Street in Andover Monday was caused by a woman using a hot plate. According to Mansfield, the fire was not caused by the hot plate. It started because some grease in a pan being cooked on a hot plate overheated. The woman cooking was able to extinguish the fire by throwing the pan outside.

LAWRENCE (CBS) — Gas pipeline ventilation in Merrimack Valley took place Wednesday after it was postponed due to weather. Columbia Gas warned residents that they may smell gas, they may hear loud noises, or their travel may be impacted during the venting.

The impacted areas in Andover were the intersection of Essex and Brook Streets, the intersection of Phillips and Main Streets, and the intersection of Elm and Pine Streets.

The impacted area in North Andover was the intersection of Chickering, Pleasant and Russell Streets.

Lawrence Police also tweeted that crews had blocked off parts of Lenox Street, Hawley Street from South Broadway to Brookfield Street, Inman Street from South Broadway to Brookfield Street, Farley Street at Brookfield Street, and Groton Street at Brookfield Street for ventilation.

Workers on Farley Street in Lawrence told WBZ-TV around noon that they were finished with the gas purging and were on to replacing the gas line.

“Everybody had a question as to what action they were going to take, how quickly they were going to take it, but everything that I’ve seen so far, I mean it looks positive,” said Lawrence resident Arthur Doiron.

First responders and utility crews were visible out in the streets. “This is a routine and safe procedure to ensure any residual gas is removed from the natural gas lines prior to crews beginning work. Venting will occur throughout the restoration process,” Columbia Gas wrote on Facebook.

“If you ever suspect a leak, stop what you’re doing, leave the area and call 911 and Columbia Gas from a safe place.”

Property Claims Centers will also be open from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. in Andover and 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Lawrence.

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — A $1 million emergency loan fund has been set up for Massachusetts businesses directly impacted by a series of natural gas explosions and fires.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and officials from Lawrence, Andover and North Andover announced the fund on Friday.

No payments and no interest will be required during the first six months of each loan made to eligible businesses. If the loan extends beyond six months, market rates would then apply.

Businesses can begin applying for the loans on Monday and officials hope to process applications within 48 hours.

The Sept. 13 blasts killed one person, injured some 25 others and damaged or destroyed dozens of homes and businesses.

Officials say Columbia Gas, the utility that serves the area, contributed a $250,000 loan loss reserve for the fund.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

LAWRENCE, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts’ two U.S. Senators say the natural gas company at the center of the explosions north of Boston last month was “woefully unprepared” for the unfolding disaster.

Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said Friday a review of internal Columbia Gas documents found the utility didn’t have adequate safety and response measures in place before the Sept. 13 incident.

The senators said the company only instituted “commonsense” measures like knowing the location of control lines days after more than 80 natural gas explosions and fires rocked Lawrence, North Andover and Andover.

Company spokesmen didn’t immediately comment.

Gov. Charlie Baker and local officials also announced Friday they’re offering hotel rooms and other temporary housing for those without gas service. The incident killed one teen and injured 25 others people.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

LAWRENCE (CBS) – Thousands of hotel rooms and hundreds of apartments and travel trailers will be available for Columbia Gas customers who still have no service after last month’s explosions and fires in the Merrimack Valley.

The alternative housing plan was announced Friday by state and local authorities in an attempt to help people who won’t be able to stay in their homes without gas service as the weather starts to get colder.

Some of the travel trailers available to affected Columbia Gas customers in Lawrence. (Photo credit: Paul Burton – WBZ-TV)

Columbia Gas has vowed to restore all gas service to the affected customers in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover by November 19.

More than 3,000 hotel rooms have been reserved through mid-November for customers within 30 miles of their homes. Transportation assistance will be available, including Uber and Lyft.

More than 150 apartments and 360 travel trailers have also been leased. Customers will have an additional option of a warming center shelter at the old Malden Mills facility on Stafford Street in Lawrence.

Impacted Columbia Gas customers who want the alternative housing should call the claims line at 1-800-590-5571.

An over-pressurization in the lines of Columbia Gas on September 13 led to more than 80 explosions in homes in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. A young man was killed when one blast brought a chimney down onto his car.

At the peak of the disaster, about 10,000 homes had no gas service, heat or hot water.

On Friday, Massachusetts senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey said a review of the company’s internal documents showed Columbia Gas was “woefully unprepared” for the disaster.

NORTH ANDOVER (CBS) – It’s Columbus Day weekend, but something is missing. Where are the vibrant leaves of autumn?

People hoping to do some leaf peeping this weekend may be disappointed, but that doesn’t mean the foliage season won’t still be brilliant.

The signs of fall are everywhere at Smolak Farms in North Andover. The pumpkin patch is overflowing, the apples are crisp and the cider donuts are delicious. But check out the trees.

Delayed foliage at Smolak Farms in North Attleboro (WBZ-TV)

“I mean, everything seems to be a little greener,” says one dad pulling his two kids in a wagon. Actually everything is a lot greener.

“We’ve seen a definite shift in terms of when full foliage comes,” says farmer Michael Smolak.

We should be seeing bright colors, but instead, the green is hanging on. “It used to be high foliage right now. Columbus Day was the height of our foliage season,” says Smolak.

(WBZ-TV graphic)

Not this year, and the weather is the culprit. To get these kinds of colors we need cool nights and warm days, but the nights haven’t cooperated. That means we’re seeing just the beginning of color, as the warm, humid weather keeps the leaves from changing.

“The tree senses these things. Once the warmth is still there, they’re not so likely to kick into fall mode,” Smolak says.

To find peak foliage right now you have to travel to northern New England, but in a week or so that line moves to southern New Hampshire, and in two weeks we should have beautiful color in our area. That is, if the cool nights are here to stay.

BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The utility company involved in last month’s explosions and fires in Massachusetts says it has replaced nearly 36 miles of main pipeline in the area. Columbia Gas announced Sunday that it’s 80 percent through its work replacing 45 miles of the main pipeline, and about halfway through its work replacing 6,100 service lines to homes and businesses.

The Sept. 13 explosions and fires killed a teenager and injured at least 25 other people.

The company says 151 construction crews are expected to continue work Sunday in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.

In North Andover, the following areas are closed due to gas-related roadwork: Francis Street, Union Street from Waverly Street to Patriot Street, and there are detours on Main Street at Elm Street and Greene Street.

Federal authorities say natural gas lines became overpressurized after Columbia Gas failed to account for critical pressure sensors as workers replaced century-old cast-iron pipes in Lawrence.

On Saturday, Columbia Gas also tweeted a warning to customers that a scam notification has been going around. They posted a picture of a real note from Columbia Gas versus a fake one. “Columbia Gas door hangers have our logo and phone number,” they explained. “Please call us at 1-866-388-3239 if you are not sure about a note, phone call, email or person claiming to be affiliated with us.”

The company says it has paid $23 million in claims from customers.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

LAWRENCE (CBS) – As temperatures fall to the 30s, frustrations are only growing through the Merrimack Valley.

“It’s been hard for not only us, my family, my neighbors and everybody around here. It’s been hard not having gas,” said Lawrence resident Ivan Jusino.

Ivan Jusino has been without heat or hot water since the Columbia Gas disaster more than a month ago. His family of five is crammed into a temporary shelter for warmth.

These trailers are serving as temporary shelter for displaced residents in Lawrence. (WBZ-TV)

“That’s what we’ve got,” said Jusino. “It’s better than being outside or in the house right now.”

They’re not alone.

Thousands of people in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence have had their lives disrupted – struggling every day without gas.

Stephanie Reiland of North Andover, shown bundled up at her home, is still without heat. (WBZ-TV)

Stephanie Reiland has to stay bundled up in her own home and says she’s using space heaters despite warnings that they’re dangerous.

“We have space heaters, we’re not supposed to use them here, but we have to because we’re cold,” said Reiland of North Andover.

That’s not all she has to worry about.

Columbia Gas is warning customers of a scam after homeowners discovered fake notices on their door from a man named “Jose” possibly posing as a Columbia Gas worker.

“It actually asks us to call them so they can visit your house, so that’s kind of sketchy,” said Reiland.

Columbia Gas is asking customers to guard their personal information, adding that their door-hangers always have their logo on it with a toll-free number.

Columbia Gas announced Sunday that it’s 80 percent through its work replacing 45 miles of the main pipeline, and about halfway through its work replacing 6,100 service lines to homes and businesses.

LAWRENCE (CBS) – Columbia Gas will miss the November 19 deadline for complete gas restoration in the Merrimack Valley, Governor Charlie Baker said Friday. The new deadline has been set for sometime between December 2 and December 16.

At a news conference in Lawrence, Baker said 1,400 more people will be brought in to move the gas restoration along.  Those jobs will included plumbers, electricians and contractors.

Joe Albanese, who has been in charge of the restoration project, said the main pipeline repair is two-and-a-half weeks ahead of schedule, but the “house ready repairs” process is taking longer than expected, so they will not make the original Nov. 19 deadline. As a result, it’s been moved past Thanksgiving into the first half of December, although Albanese predicted that most impacted residents will have heat and hot water before then.

“As the temperatures drop, we recognize there’s an incredible sense of urgency to get people back in their homes with heat and hot water as soon as possible. We are racing against the winter,” Albanese said.

Columbia Gas is saying all 45 miles of gas pipeline will be replaced by next week. The problem is relighting all the customers, house to house.

So Columbia Gas is employing what it is calling a “rapid relight strategy,” making temporary repairs to boilers and houses that are gas ready, to get the heat and hot water going. Restoration crews then plan to come back after the winter to replace those appliances as they have pledged. To do this, they’re tripling the personnel to get the work done.

Crews working on gas pipelines in Lawrence. (WBZ-TV)

Baker said for thousands of residents, their world “has been turned upside down.”

“This process, for a variety of reasons, has been painful, frustrating and inconvenient,” Baker said. “All of us have heard tough stories from you on delays, poor communication and the headaches that have infiltrated your day-to-day life, whether your commute from a hotel is long or you’re trying desperately to try and get your business back up and running. This recovery mission is all about helping you get back to normal in your home and to be made whole and for the cost of inconvenience you are enduring through no fault of your own.”

Tony Pena’s home in Lawrence is gas ready, but there is no connection yet to his heating units.

“It’s very frustrating, not having heat, you know, not having hot water. It’s crazy,” Pena said.

Some of the travel trailers available to affected Columbia Gas customers in Lawrence. (Photo credit: Paul Burton – WBZ-TV)

Stephanie Abarta has been spending some time at a hotel, but with a one-year-old daughter and dog that needs to stay at home, she’s anxious.

She doesn’t have confidence in the new deadline.

“Not really, just because they said that they were going to have everything done before Thanksgiving, and now it’s a new deadline, later,” Abarta said.

Several homes and businesses still have no natural gas service, 43 days after the utility accidentally over-pressurized a gas line, causing explosions and fires in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. A young man was killed when a home blew up and a chimney crushed his car.

Many families have been provided with cooktops and space heaters while others moved into a temporary trailer park in Lawrence while Columbia Gas replaces 45 miles of the main pipeline.

The utility has been accused of failing to provide enough convenient housing and running a dysfunctional claims process.

NORTH ANDOVER (CBS) – There was a carbon monoxide scare for a family in North Andover months after the deadly gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley.

A boiler malfunction sent young kids to the hospital and Columbia Gas might be to blame.

The leak happened at a duplex on Garden Street. Angie Platt says she and two of her children tested positive for carbon monoxide. An infant who is three weeks old tested negative.

It was Platt’s neighbor who called 911 around 6:30 a.m. Monday after her carbon monoxide detectors went off.

When firefighters arrived they found CO levels in the basement of the unit next door to Platt’s hovering around 1,000 parts per million.

Officials say the five people living in the duplex were waiting for them outside and drove themselves to the hospital to get checked out.

The North Andover town manager says around 2,000 dwellings were impacted in the gas disaster in the Merrimack Valley. Most appliances have been replaced, but he says repairs were made at a boiler inside this residence.

“It’s not uncommon actually to see a repair but Columbia Gas was coming back in the spring to replace all of those that were repaired,” North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor said.

Maylor says restoration is 93% complete in North Andover.

Columbia Gas says they are relieved no one was harmed in this situation and they’re working with local authorities to find out what happened.

BOSTON (CBS) — As heat and gas service returns to the thousands of families displaced by the Merrimack Valley gas explosions, the road back home will be even longer for families who saw their homes catch fire.

Dean and Mona Thornhill are now watching 42 years of memories get tossed into a dumpster. Many of the items that escaped the flames at the East Water Street home in North Andover were damaged beyond repair by smoke and water. “Forty-two years you bring something into your house, 85 percent we can’t use,” explained Dean Thornhill.

On Sept. 13, Dean knew something was wrong when he heard a sound from the gas stove in the living room. “There was a lot of noise coming out of that stove. Instead of a little flame, it was a flamethrower.”

Dean Thornhill (WBZ-TV)

Dean immediately ran downstairs to the heating system. “And this entire area was one big gas flame,” he said while pointing to the basement ceiling. “When I say the basement was engulfed, I knew there was nothing I could do.” But that wasn’t his biggest concern.

“We had four children in the back we had to get out of here.” Those four kids were in the home daycare with his wife, Mona.

“I’m thinking it’s going to explode,” Mona recalled. Despite the fear of knowing her home was on fire, Mona managed to keep her composure in front of the children, all under the age of four. “You had to be strong for the kids,” Mona said.

Mona Thornhill (WBZ-TV)

Mona and Dean got the kids out safely and then waited on the street for help to arrive. “I could see smoke come pouring out of the house. And then [Dean] said that were no fire trucks available.” It would be hours before the Thornhills would learn they were victims of the biggest natural gas disaster in state history.

Their home is now unlivable. Mona shook her head when asked what life is like now, “It is so different. It is so different.” While the home is still standing, the smoke damage inside is irreparable. Walls are covered in soot, most of the furniture will be thrown away, and windows were shattered. The place will be gutted and it could take up to a year before the Thornhills will be able to move back in. For now, an apartment, five miles away, is their temporary home.

Still, The Thornhills consider themselves lucky. “We have a roof over our head. We have heat,” said Mona.

“We’re alive,” added Dean.

“Yeah,” agreed Mona, “We got the children out. I have nightmares about that.” The daycare is now eerily quiet. The calendar Mona used to teach the kids about days and months is now frozen on September 13th. Fortunately, the fire never reached this part of the building but the smoke did.

The daycare in the Thornhills’ home has not been open since Sept. 13 (WBZ-TV)

Mona’s daughter-in-law now owns the daycare and she is out of a job, indefinitely. And the dominoes keep falling. “Six families, three sets of siblings, and they are all displaced now,” explained Mona. “On an instant notice.”

Mona’s initial sadness has now turned to anger. The Thornhills says Columbia Gas replaced the lines on their street just last year but never installed the high-pressure valve that would have saved their home on Sept. 13. “Total negligence,” Mona called it.

“If a group of people came into the Merrimack Valley and set a bunch of houses on fire, and shut off everybody’s gas and took them out of their houses and put them in trailers our government would have those people arrested,” said an emotional Dean. Then Mona jumped in, “And they basically got away with it.”

The Thornhills want to hold Columbia Gas accountable by filing a lawsuit. They are also calling on company executives to resign. Dean recounted the moment he decided to file suit, “When they said that it was an ‘inconvenient incident.’ A young man died.” Eighteen-year-old Leonel Rondon was killed when a house exploded in Lawrence sending the chimney onto his SUV. “I’ve never sued anybody. Never thought I would. They deserve it,” Dean stated.

They are also asking local elected officials to give back any campaign contributions they received from Columbia Gas or its parent company NiSource. “I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find that our state and local politicians took money from NiSource for their campaigns. I realize that happens. I would like to ask them now to give that money back,” said Dean. “If they are going to hold those two companies accountable and they are on our side give the money back. Be on our side.”

For now, the Thornhills find moments of normalcy, like at a birthday party for Abby, one of the daycare kids. The families who used to see each other every day now have to settle for brief reunions. Months after the disaster, the parents are still applauding the Thornhills’ response.

“Dean and Mona are amazing,” said Laura St. Lawrence. Her three-year-old daughter, Erin, was in the home when it caught fire.

“They were watching their house burn down yet acting like nothing was happening so the kids didn’t panic,” said Abby’s mom, Katy DeMars. The families have all found temporarily child care and are counting the days until they can return to the Thornhills’ family-run center.

Dean and Mona hold their superhero capes (WBZ-TV)

To thank Dean and Mona for their heroics, the kids presented the couple with brightly-colored capes emblazoned with their initials. “Abby said we were superheroes for getting her out of the school with the smoke in it,” Mona told us while she proudly displayed her new cape. Abby and her family also delivered a Christmas tree to the Thornhills, after Mona suggested she might skip the tradition this year. “We’ve always had a tree and I didn’t want this incident to change that,” said Dean.

Slowly finding a new normal when their lives feel upside-down. “It’s always there in the back of your mind. No matter what you’re doing. You think about it,” explained Mona. “You dream about it. You wake up and it’s the first thing on your mind.”

NORTH ANDOVER (CBS) – Shane Nevins moved to North Andover two weeks before September’s gas disaster.

“We got a reverse 911 [call] that basically said get out of the house. If you’ve got Columbia Gas to your house get out now. There were helicopters everywhere and fire engines everywhere; it was crazy,” Nevins recalled outside his Saunders Street home.

His family was kept out of their home for two weeks, but he never received a gas bill until a couple of days before the new year.

“We got a huge bill in the mail, $243 from out of nowhere and we’re on a payment plan. And they’re like ‘oh you got til the 20th [of January] to pay it’,” Nevins said.

Bill from Columbia Gas (WBZ-TV)

One of Nevins’ elderly neighbors, who only wanted to be identified as Roberta, tells WBZ-TV she’s also waiting for the same bill.

She says she’s on a fixed income and hasn’t gotten a bill since August.

“I couldn’t pay it there’s no way I can pay. I don’t know what will happen. As it is, I owe them a lot of money and I’m only paying small payments now,” Roberta said Wednesday.

Columbia Gas says customers can find the latest billing information on their weekly web newsletter.

Billing for customers whose gas appliances had to be restored or replaced will resume this month. Everyone else will still have to pay.

Columbia Gas workers (WBZ-TV)

“It was clear on the website and if they called Columbia Gas, if they had not received a bill, [they can find out] why they did not receive a bill,” said company spokesman Scott Ferson.

“Columbia Gas works all the time with customers over how to pay it over a period of time. So nobody should worry about that and certainly in the winter no one is in danger of having their gas cut off,” said Ferson from one of the company offices in Haverhill.

Ferson says customers whose gas service was interrupted did receive credits for the month. Nevins got a $13 restoration credit for the month of September.

“They should’ve sent something out, notified us, something, there are thousands of people in this area affected and they didn’t tell anyone other than over a website,” Nevins said.

For now, as the Merrimack Valley braces for the sticker shock, Nevins says he has no choice but to set up a payment plan.