Pipeline Firm Will Buy Homes, Pay Off Evacuees

The owner of a gasoline pipeline that ruptured and set a poor neighborhood ablaze here pledged Monday to buy the 15 homes demolished or damaged by the fire and to give each family evacuated during the disaster a one-time payment of $5,000.

Under an agreement with city officials unveiled at a morning press conference, Calnev Pipe Line Co. also will reimburse San Bernardino for expenses related to the deadly fire and will continue to provide lodging for some residents who remain displaced.

Meanwhile, Rep. George Brown (D-San Bernardino) on Monday called for a federal study of the gasoline and utility lines that crisscross the region. Brown, who already has persuaded a congressional subcommittee to hold a local hearing on the fire later this month, said such a study is imperative to determine whether regulations governing the siting of such conduits are sufficient.

Calnev officials said that if the study concludes their 14-inch fuel line should be relocated away from homes in the Muscoy section of western San Bernardino, they will comply.

“If the results of that study say the pipeline should be moved, we will abide by that mandate,” said Anthony J. Andrukaitis, vice president of GATX Terminals, which owns Calnev.

Monday’s agreement represents an effort by the city and Calnev to relieve some of the pain suffered by residents of a neighborhood traumatized first by a runaway freight train and then by a fireball brought on by the explosion of the Calnev gas line.

Four people were killed when the Southern Pacific train jumped the tracks and flattened a row of homes May 12. Two people died 13 days later when the gasoline line erupted and showered nearby homes with flaming fuel. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating both accidents, which appear to be related. Southern Pacific has said it will help the pipeline company make reparation payments to residents.

In announcing Monday’s agreement, newly elected Mayor W. R. (Bob) Holcomb said it was time for the city to abandon its apparently futile court fight to block the reopening of the line and give residents some immediate compensation.

‘Good Corporate Citizens’

Holcomb, who just hours earlier was sworn in as mayor, praised Calnev and Southern Pacific as “good corporate citizens” and said their offers of reparations will enable stricken residents to “pick up the pieces.”

But many among the 178 families who have lived in motels since the blaze seemed unmollified by the monetary awards. And most seemed convinced that their ravaged neighborhood would never again be safe.

“I’m not going back, would you?” said Dwight Pledger, adding that Sunday’s pipeline explosion on the Trans-Siberian Railroad in the Soviet Union only strengthened his resolve. “I think the city wants this agreement so they can wash their hands of the whole thing.”

Visibly upset, several residents demanded that Calnev officials give their word that a repeat of the fiery explosion would not occur: “I can’t,” responded Andrukaitis. “I can’t speculate.”

Another man challenged the mayor to move into his Duffy Street home once pipeline service resumed. “You can bring your wife and kids,” Paul Evans, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1970, told Holcomb. “I’ll give you the keys. I won’t be there.”

Residents Still Upset

These residents--whose homes were not damaged by flames but were seriously devalued by the disasters--said they feel abandoned by the city and the company that wreaked havoc on their once-peaceful lives.

“I appreciate this $5,000, but the gesture doesn’t address the fact we’re forced to go back to a place we’re scared to death to live,” said Steve Alderette. “What my wife and I really want is for them to give us back what we lost. We bought our home here because it was the only neighborhood we could afford. Now it’s not worth nil. So what do we do, move to Barstow?”

In an effort to assuage those fears, Calnev officials noted that they are exceeding federal requirements with the replacement pipeline. The new line will be thicker than its predecessor and buried six feet instead of four feet deep. The pipe will be encased in concrete and surrounded in a cushion of sand.

Some Homes Declared Safe

Andrukaitis said repairs to the pipe are likely to conclude Wednesday. On Thursday, the line will be tested with water for four hours at 125% of its normal pressure. If all goes well, gasoline will resume flowing through the line, which serves several Air Force bases and Las Vegas, on Friday.

Fire officials declared all but 83 homes safe to occupy Monday. Signs that previously warned residents to enter at their own risk were removed. The 83 homes still off limits are in an area soiled with petroleum and sal soda, a sandy material that spilled from the runaway train.

In accepting the $5,000, residents will not relinquish their right to file other claims with Calnev or Southern Pacific.