August 13, 2004

2 GAS BLAST SURVIVORS SUING EACH OTHER

By ANDY BROMAGE, Staff Writer, New Haven Register

WEST HAVEN - Days after being sued by the widow of an elderly man who was killed in a 2002 natural gas explosion, the spouse of another victim shot back this week with his own wrongful-death lawsuit.

Foster Tindell of 309 Terrace Ave., No. 6, whose wife, Vivianna, was killed in the Aug. 13, 2002, blast at Orchard Hill Condominiums, is suing Dolores Palmer, whose husband, Conrad Palmer, was also killed in the explosion. He is also suing the estate of Conrad Palmer, the Orchard Hills Condominium Association and Southern Connecticut Gas Co.

The suit was returned to Superior Court in New Haven Wednesday and seeks a minimum of $15,000 in damages.

News of the suit comes six days after Dolores Palmer, of 309 Terrace Ave., No. 7, announced she was suing Foster Tindell, as well as the seller of a gas range and four other parties for the wrongful death of her husband.

Tindell's lawsuit says he suffered burns, cuts, fractured teeth and shrapnel wounds from the blast. The explosion deprived him of the love and companionship of his wife, the suit says.

New Haven lawyer Joel Faxon, who represents Tindell, said his client was surprised by Palmer's lawsuit.

" I'm certain that once all of the facts become clear, the claim against our clients will be withdrawn," he said.

Donald Altschuler, attorney for Dolores Palmer, said he doubts that will happen.

Both couples' stoves, which had been impounded by police since the blast, were finally released earlier this year, he said.

Inspection indicates that Palmer's range might not have been the only one leaking gas the night of the blast, he said.

" The most recent evidence indicated that the Tindells' stove was also on at the time of the blast," Altschuler said.

The 3:29 a.m. gas explosion tore through the condominium complex, rocking the neighborhood and burying families in the rubble.

The blast was felt as far away as New Haven and is considered among the worst disasters to strike the area in recent years. Only Conrad Palmer and Viviana Tindell were killed.

Police Sgt. Paul Raucci, who as a detective led the investigation into the blast, said Wednesday a final police report determined the explosion's point of origin was Conrad Palmer's apartment.

" Most likely the stove was the point of origin but we couldn't conclusively say," Raucci said.

The case was closed in February, Raucci said.

Foster Tindell's suit claims the Orchard Hill Condo Association failed to " adequately investigate the source of the odor of gas coming from Unit Number 7 on several different occasions on and prior to the date of the explosion."

Condo Association President Paul Hardy declined comment Thursday. Tindell's suit says Southern Connecticut Gas was careless and negligent in its maintenance of gas lines feeding into the complex.

Southern Connecticut Gas spokesman John Dobos said the company had no comment.

A year after the explosion, a report by the state Department of Public Utility Control's Gas Pipeline Safety Unit found that Southern Connecticut Gas Co.'s lines "were not the cause of the explosion nor were the operations of SCG in any way involved."

A 2002 police report says Dolores Palmer told police that several times in the months before the blast she had to turn off stove burners that her husband had left partially on.