Anger lingers over blasting mishap

Friday, Dec. 30, 2005 | 7:26 a.m.

Amid growing anger among residents over a construction blast suspected to have damaged more than 100 homes last week, Henderson officials may reissue a permit allowing the blasting to resume as early as Tuesday.

That anger was visible Wednesday when about 200 people attended a meeting sponsored by Sanders Construction to explain the Canyons development blast mishap that rattled homes a mile away on Dec. 20. Company officials also outlined steps being taken to prevent it from happening again.

The meeting was civil at the start, after company officials apologized and promised to pay for damage caused by the blast.

But after an hour, MassMedia, Sanders' public relations firm, abruptly ended the meeting when a few residents started complaining about the blasting resuming and expressing fears of not getting compensated for damage. Some even questioned Henderson's oversight of the blasting industry.

At the city's request, Sanders submitted a plan Wednesday outlining the steps it has taken to prevent a recurrence of the accident. A committee of city staff members will decide Tuesday whether to reissue a permit revoked Dec. 20, Deputy Fire Marshal Fulton Cochran said.

Henderson officials said that once Sanders implements procedures that lessen the chance of a similar accident, and proves it trained its staff on the new procedures, the permit will be reissued.

Even with the new guidelines, Assistant City Attorney Mark Zalaoras said there are no guarantees.

"I go back to what (Sanders consultant) Charles Murphy said that you can't guarantee that nothing like that mishap will happen again," Zalaoras said.

Sanders officials, who said the company has an excellent safety record in its more than 30 years, said blasting crews were trained on the new procedures over the Christmas holiday and are ready to resume work.

"It is up to the city, but Sanders feels they have addressed the issue well," said Art Greene of MassMedia, a spokesman for the Sanders. "And if the city had any more ideas, we would be happy to comply."

If blasting is allowed to resume anytime soon at the Canyons, a DR Horton development south of Horizon Ridge Parkway and east of Green Valley Parkway, there could be an uproar from residents. Some have called for construction blasting to be banned in Henderson and others said it should at least be limited.

"I think it is way too soon," said Scott Hansen, who said his home on Timber Walk Drive -- more than a quarter-mile away from the blast -- was damaged. "They need to investigate everything and put in more strict guidelines. You could see by the number of people at the meeting that the area is pretty upset. If they issue the permit now, something is going on."

In its preliminary report to the city, Sanders, whose blasting of rock paves the way for constructing hillside homes, blames the mishap on an underground void, said Mike Cyphers, Henderson's emergency management coordinator.

An explosive poured into one of the 325 holes drilled for the blasting drained into the void. After workers realized what was happening, they put in blasting caps and detonated the hole along with the others, which are timed to go off 8 milliseconds apart, Cyphers said.

But the presence of the void apparently caused several holes to detonate at once, increasing the intensity of the blast, Cyphers said.

The air blast exceeded the city's 120 decibel limit, but the amount isn't known because the meter stopped measuring at 142 decibels, he said. The threshold to break windows is 150 decibels.

The blast didn't exceed the city's limit on vibrations, Cyphers said.

Henderson adopted a new blasting ordinance in November and December -- after Sanders' license was issued in September -- that requires greater notification to residents before blasting starts and places more regulations on blasters. Nothing in that ordinance would have prevented the accident, Cochran said.

In a preliminary report based on interviews with residents a day after the blast, nine homes were damaged with everything from broken door hinges to broken windows, cracked stucco and drywall, Cyphers said.

Residents have reported pictures knocked off walls and glass tables broken. The nearest home was 700 feet away, but the damage hit homes that had covered patios where the air blast was funneled, he said.

"We know there is way more than that," Cyphers said of the nine homes confirmed by Sanders so far. "We expect that number to be huge. We think it will be well over 100."

Hansen, who moved into his home at Tiano de Terrazzo a month ago, said the blast damaged his sliding glass door. He said he and other residents fear Sanders, which is self-insured, will try to blame damage on the builder, Pardee Homes, rather than take responsibility.

Bo Hash, Sanders' insurance claims adjustor, told residents at Wednesday's meeting that a blast expert will be brought in to determine if the company is at fault on claims that are not expected to be air-blast related.

More than a week after the Canyons blast, residents, even those who didn't have any damage, were still shaken and upset by the mishap.

"It scared the crap out of me," Hansen said. "I have never felt anything like it before. Well, yes I have, the 1994 Northridge earthquake (in California). It felt just like that."

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at wargo@lasvegassun.com.