(Valley News—Laura DeCapua)

1 Dead in Eastman Explosion

Outdoor Tennis Court Ripped Apart, Cause Unknown

By Sonia Scherr
Valley News Staff Writer

Grantham -- A Grantham man was killed and two seriously injured in a propane gas explosion yesterday afternoon at a raised, outdoor tennis court in Eastman, a recreational community off Route 10, Grantham fire officials said yesterday.

James Owen, 64, died at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center at 3:17 p.m., shortly after he was transported by ambulance from the accident scene, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Morton Shea, 68, was listed in serious condition at DHMC last night after undergoing surgery. Anthony Crecca, 61, also at DHMC, was listed in fair condition and was expected to undergo surgery last night, the spokeswoman said.

All three men suffered broken bones, cuts, lacerations and blunt trauma, Grantham Fire Chief Bob Seavey said.

A fourth man, whose name was not released by officials last night, received minimal injuries and was “shaken up,” Seavey said. He was treated at the scene and released.

Grantham police and fire officials as well as the state Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the cause of the explosion, which ripped apart the tennis court and has rocked residents of this affluent recreational community.

It's just devastating,” Eastman General Manager Ken Ryder said yesterday. He said Eastman relies on volunteers such as the four men to keep the community running smoothly. “Accidents like this, you never want this kind of thing to happen.”

Both Shea and Crecca are prominent volunteers in the Eastman community, which has 850 homes and more than 300 condominiums, many of which are owned by retirees. Shea had run for the Grantham school board several years ago but wasn't elected. Crecca, who has had a home in Eastman for more than 20 years, volunteers as a referee at elementary school basketball games.

The cause of the explosion had not yet been found, Seavey said late yesterday afternoon. But Lt. Steve Haselton of the Grantham Fire Department said last night that officials were investigating two possibilities: That the explosion occurred while the men -- officials don't know which of the four -- were turning on the propane to heat the tennis court, or while they were starting a snow blower to remove snow from the court.

Physician Scott Irvine, a neighbor, said one of the injured men told him that the snow blower struck something just before the explosion. Haselton said he believed Owen had started the snow blower.

Seavey said the men, all Eastman residents, were preparing to clear snow from the tennis court when the explosion occurred at around 2 p.m. The raised aluminum tennis court platform, which has no roof, was covered with about 20 inches of snow from this weekend's storm. A propane heater underneath the deck usually melts the snow, but so much had fallen that the men had a lot to clear, Seavey said.

The explosion threw two of the men over the 12-foot high fence around the court, and they landed about 10 feet away in the snow, Seavey said at the scene, not identifying the men. Another man was trapped beneath the floor deck, which blew in two directions from the force of the explosion, he said.

Irvine said that when he arrived at the scene, one man was stunned and another had suffered multiple fractures. Irvine called the DHMC helicopter to transport a third man who he said was bleeding profusely from a head wound.

Meanwhile, about 15 rescuers were digging in the snow with shovels for about 20 minutes looking for a fourth man, since they were trying to match victims with four hats people at the scene had found there, Irvine said.

Irvine, who was assisting inside one of at least three ambulances at the scene, said he heard someone pound on the side of the vehicle and shout “We need the doctor back.”

The rescuers had found the fourth man, Owen, underneath about 5 feet of snow. He was not breathing and had no discernable heartbeat, Irvine said.

Emergency personnel performed CPR on him during the 25-minute ride to the hospital, where he died, Irvine said.

The state medical examiner will perform an autopsy on Owen, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Irvine and Seavey said they didn't notice any burns on the men or singed clothing. “There was nothing indicative of a big fireball,” Irvine said.

Seavey said a small campfire-sized flame was shooting from one of the court's heaters when firefighters arrived. They turned off the gas and extinguished the fire, he said.

Ryder said the tennis court heating system, installed two years ago, was inspected each time it was lit to melt snow and underwent regular maintenance.

Yesterday afternoon, only Eastman residents were allowed past the accident scene on Greensward Drive. Later, firefighters blocked off the road to everyone.

At least 10 fire trucks, ambulances and police cars lined the street. Emergency workers from Grantham and Springfield, N.H., responded to the scene while Croydon firefighters covered for Grantham at their station.

At the Eastman scene, large dark slabs, the remains of the tennis court, protruded from the earth.

Irvine's 9-year-old daughter, Dorothy, was at home -- two doors away from the tennis court -- when the explosion occurred. “It sounded like a tree just came slamming down on the roof,” she told reporters, standing in her doorway late yesterday afternoon. “It was a really loud bang, and it sort of shook the house.”

Irvine said his wife was standing on the porch when he pulled into the driveway from a hockey game. “She said, ‘Something's just fallen on the house.' ”

“I said, ‘What do you mean, something's hit the house?' ”

She had brought their three children downstairs, Irvine said. “She was clearly spooked and the baby was crying.”

He walked around the house, but everything was fine. Then he saw several ambulances speed by and decided to walk up the road. “There was a mangled mess that was the remnants of what was an outdoor tennis court,” he said.

“Initially it was holy cow, and then my doctor hat went on, and I said I need to help out.”

Eastman's board of directors and Ryder will work on plans today for how to proceed following the accident, board Chairman Bob Friday said last night.

“It's a tragedy obviously, and (there are) a lot of shocked people at Eastman.”

Eastman has about 800 full-time and 2,800 part-time residents, Ryder said. About half the population consists of retirees.