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Edison, New Jersey natural gas explosion

1994 disasters in the United States1994 in New Jersey1994 industrial disastersEdison, New JerseyExplosions in 1994
Fires in New JerseyGas explosions in the United StatesMarch 1994 events in the United StatesPipeline accidents in the United StatesUrban fires in the United States

The Texas Eastern Transmission Corporation Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion and Fire occurred in Edison, New Jersey, on March 23, 1994, where a 36-inch (910 mm) diameter natural gas pipeline broke and exploded into flames next to the Durham Woods apartment complex along New Durham Road at its junction with Interstate 287. The cause of this breakage was given by the NTSB as mechanical damage caused by a backhoe that gauged out 1/4” of steel off the pipe. This was the result of an insurance situation where the owner of a personal vehicle buried their truck to receive insurance monies. This was done on a property adjacent to the complex. The resulting fire destroyed or severely damaged 14 of the apartment buildings. Over 1,500 apartment residents were evacuated, 125 resident apartments, 9 complete buildings, were destroyed and their occupants were left homeless. Miraculously, no one died as a direct result of the explosion. One death occurred from a heart attack suffered by Sandra Snyder, who was unable to summon emergency workers amid the chaos. Sandra and her husband did not live in the complex. He was not able to reach 911 because there were 40,000 calls to 911 in the first few minutes of the explosion. Sandra had just gotten home from the hospital for a heart situation. Because the fire occurred so close to the Durham Woods complex, residents in the area also refer to it as the Durham Woods fire or Durham Woods Explosion. This explosion was the largest gas pipeline explosion of its kind in a highly populated area. Swift action was taken by local authorities as well as the pipeline company who showed complete support for everyone who was effected. On April 19, 1994, a Pipeline Safety Summit was convened on Capital Hill where US Senators, led by Senator Bill Bradley (NJ-D), met to create new regulations. The only US citizen called to testify in these proceedings was Tobi (Glovinsky) Bowen who was thrown from her bed, 200 feet from the main blast, and ran for her life. The result of these proceedings lead to the institution of the national One Call Law, Call Before You Dig, 811 Hotline. Today, April is recognized as National Safe Digging Month.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Edison, New Jersey natural gas explosion (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Edison, New Jersey natural gas explosion
Donnybridge Road,

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N 40.5484 ° E -74.3946 °
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Donnybridge Road
08817
New Jersey, United States
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St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, New Jersey)

St. Joseph High School, also known as St. Joe's, is an independent, all-boys Roman Catholic college preparatory school located on a 70-acre (280,000 m2) campus in Metuchen and Edison, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school draws students from an area encompassing over forty school districts and over seventy grammar schools in Middlesex, Somerset, and Union counties, as well as other outlying areas. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1968.St. Joseph is operated by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, who have been active in American education since their arrival from Lyon, France, in 1847. From 1901 to 1961, St. Joseph served as a center for training and educating Brothers prior to their apostolate. The school opened in September 1961 as a high school open to the public. The main school building was dedicated in the spring of 1963. There are both lay and religious teachers. As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 507 students and 35 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.5:1. The school's student body was 66.7% (338) White, 15.4% (78) Hispanic, 10.3% (52) Asian and 7.7% (39) Black.Since 2018, Anne Rivera is the principal for St. Joe's. She replaced Justin Fleetwood, who was promoted to president of the school.

Stephenville, New Jersey

Stephenville (also called Stephenville Ranch, Stephenville Ranch Homes or Stephenville Village) is an unincorporated community and residential neighborhood located within Edison Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The community is centered around Park Avenue, which borders the south and west ends of the community, Stephenville Parkway, a median strip-street which runs east–west in the center of the community, and Plainfield Road, which borders the east end of the community. An eastern addition to Stephenville was planned in the early 1950s, east of Plainfield Road, but after years of political, residential and township issues, it was ultimately abandoned and portions were sectioned off into different communities during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Stephenville is located between Sutton Hollow to the north, the Oak Tree-Stephenville Park to the northeast, Hampshire Gardens, Carriage Hill and Arrowhead Park to the east, Woodbrook Corners to the south, and Park Gate and New Petrograd to the west.Stephenville was developed and built by contractor Frank P. Tufaro through his building and development firm Terra-Nova Construction Company, with plans designed by architect Erwin Gerber. The community was named after Tufaro's eldest son, Stephen D. Tufaro. When first developed in the late 1940s, the rural community was unattached to nearby neighborhoods, but by the early 1950s, it was often linked as a sub-section of Oak Tree due to the school and fire districts. The community originally had its mail delivered by the Borough of Metuchen Post Office and its sewer system was connected to the Metuchen Sewer Treatment Plant. Bigger and newer township-wide schools were built, replacing neighborhood-based schools, and the postal service routes were re-organized as more land was developed between existing communities in the 1950s and 1960s, leading formerly distinct communities in Edison Township to blur their dividing lines. Stephenville was largely responsible for getting Raritan Township to construct a modern sewer system in the northern part of the township. Local neighborhoods up to that point had septic systems installed to each house, but the land had poor seepage due to the proximity of Dismal Swamp and residents experienced frequent raw sewage overflow. The community took up their case with the Raritan Township Board of Commissioners, the Raritan Township Board of Health, the Federal Housing Administration, the New Jersey Department of Health and the Veterans Administration in the early 1950s and successfully pushed for the township to modernize sanitary living conditions.