By Mayor Emeritus Eugene C. Brune

Allow me to share with you a not so pleasant memory when I was your mayor.

44 years ago, today, and only in my 12th week as Mayor, I had my “baptism by fire,”so, to speak. At about 8:30 a.m. on the morning of April 3, 1980, I received a telephone call at my home, just as I was about to leave for my office.

I was notified that there was an accident at the B&M yard. A Boston and Maine switching engine, consisting of a locomotive and thirty-eight cars, rammed the side of a tank car. It pierced the skin of steel, 7/16” thick on a container car, causing a sixteen” long gash into the container. The damaged container was carrying 13,000 gallons of phosphorus trichloride. The chemical was spilling out of the tank car at the rate of one hundred gallons per minute. It was televised as the worst chemical spill in the history of the Commonwealth.

When I got to the scene of the accident, I thought that I was on a movie set. I saw smoke billowing all over the sky, police cars, ambulances, fire engines from several cities, civil defense cars, bulldozers and sad to say, firefighters being treated. It really looked like a movie made for television, only it was real.

My first order was to call for the evacuation of the immediate area. I later expanded that evacuation to several thousand residents.

I said to my staff, “it looks like we have much to do, and we better do it right.” The press was after me to make a statement, but I knew that first I had to meet with my then Fire Chief Charlie Donovan to find out the facts and exactly where we stood at that point. I also needed to find out all that I could in just minutes just what kind of toxic chemical “phosphorus trichloride” was.

I called for a press conference at my office soon after I got myself organized. Every television and radio station in the state was at City Hall. I explained to them that the chemical, phosphorus trichloride was a clear colorless and highly volatile liquid that was corrosive to most metals.

If this substance came in contact with the skin, it would produce major burns. Also, the chemical was so strong that it could very quickly turn the chrome or other parts of a vehicle into rust. Most importantly, I informed everyone that serious health problems could develop in those breathing this very potent and dangerous chemical.

We set up a command center at the site and at my office. Knowing that this would be an all nighter. I had my staff set up space, telephones, coffee etc for the press. I found out later that this was a gesture that they all appreciated. I just thought it was the right thing to do.

One of the most serious problems was keeping the flowing chemical away from the sewer system. To avoid this the fire department needed to get a front-end loader and make a trench so that the chemicals would not spread to the Joy Street storm drains.

In so doing our firefighters, without protective suits and breathing equipment, we’re exposed to the physical effects this chemical had on them.

One Monsanto expert informed us that when water is poured onto phosphorus trichloride a cloud of hydrochloric acid and phosphorus acid (both toxic} is formed. I decided to err on the side of caution and when the wind started to shift, I ordered the evacuation of all homes from Washington street to Cross street. By the end of the day, I had ordered the evacuation of about 14,000 citizens, including the school children from the Pope and the East Somerville Schools.

The real heroes were the firefighters. I was never so proud of our firefighters as I was that day. Each of them did an outstanding job. Sad to say we had several casualties. Firefighters Kevin F. Sullivan, Anthony McDade, and Lieutenant Edward L Clifford we’re all permanently disabled because of injuries received at this spill. A fourth firefighter Robert J Wilker was injured and spent over a week in the hospital.

In speaking with the State Secretary of Public Safety as well as the State Civil Defense Director, I was told that, like it or not, as Mayor, I was in complete control of everything that happened. Suggestions could be offered, but all decisions and orders had to come from me. What was it Harry Truman once said? “The buck stops here,” It was true.

Later I found out that we still had six thousand gallons of phosphorous trichloride that’s settled into the ground. Our problem was that we had to rid the ground of every aspect of the chemical. We could not allow the ground to remain contaminated.

The chemical engineers produced what they thought would be the best solution. If we poured ten parts water to one part chemical, this might rid the ground of any contamination. However, this choice could very well cause a huge amount of white chemical smoke to hang over our city, as well as surrounding cities such as Cambridge, Medford, or Charlestown. Naturally if the wind blew, the result would be even more disastrous and could force even more evacuations. I was also worried about the possibility of having to evacuate the Somerville Hospital. As it stood. I had already evacuated over 14,000 people during the day.

Another possibility was pouring ten parts sand to one part chemical into the ground. The downside might be that the sand would not work, and the ground would remain contaminated.

After giving it some serious thought, my decision was to pour sand and not water on the contaminated ground. We would also test the ground daily, for the next two weeks. Each person in the room proceeded to tell me that they were happy with my decision; I went away feeling hopeful. It did work.

I would be remiss if I did not give huge thanks to Fire Chief Charlie Donovan, Deputy Chief John Brosnahan, and Lt. Frank Kelly for their prompt actions throughout that fateful day and night.

There were so many volunteers who were so great to us. These included nurses, entertainers, food companies, John, and Joann Sacco the owners of Dicks Service Center, Cataldo Ambulance. Holiday Inn, bus companies, The MDC Police, and the Somerville Police. Amazingly, we did not have one case of looting in the city.

That day I saw fear in the eyes of my constituents, the uncertainty of families leaving their homes not knowing when and if they could return, and firefighters who risked their lives combating a highly potent and foreign substance. Those were the lasting impressions that I still have today.

Having been asked to speak at the Environmental Hazards Management Institute Seminar in 1982 and as well in 1983 to give testimony before the National Transportation Safety Board I was able to have our one hundred and ninety firefighters attend courses on hazardous materials, we receive Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars from the state to cover costs of the spill, I asked that the B & M Railroad to submit a list of chemicals twice a month which pass through our city, and I lobbied for a uniform code for labeling tank cars containing hazardous materials.

Note: My complete story is in my book The Spirit of Somerville an autographed copy can be purchased at the Somerville Museum, and I donate all proceeds to the Museum.