Explosion damage forces shelter to close

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A Springfield homeless shelter is closed because of the damage from Friday's natural gas explosion, and it likely won’t reopen for months.

Friday's massive natural gas explosion on Worthington Street shook dozens of buildings in downtown Springfield, including the Springfield Rescue Mission Emergency Shelter on Taylor Street.

Just after 5 Friday afternoon, 20 guests had finished their dinner. They were enjoying their evening when suddenly with a loud boom, glasses shattered and shards of glass flew into their beds.

One of the residents Gary Liberty told 22News “The only thing I can tell you that comes close to this is if you've ever been really close to fireworks, and you feel that rush. That's about the same thing.”

The blast blew out windows, cracked door frames and took out ceiling tiles.

The shelter now needs new everything before it can once again offer hot meals and beds for homeless men. But Ron Willoughby, the shelter's executive director, told 22News he is grateful the building was not a total loss.

He said, “We are lucky. We have permits for up to 60 people here, so when you take this out of the system of dealing with the homeless and helping the homeless, that takes a chunk.”

Both Columbia Gas workers and Rescue Mission's insurance company still need to assess the damage, but Willoughby told 22News he thinks they'll need at least 60 days before they can re-open.