Springdale residents say they're nervous for upcoming boiler house implosion

Myrtle Lamonna spent some of her Monday afternoon shutting and tightening the windows of her Porter Street home.

That, she said, was in preparation for the upcoming implosion of the boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale, which is set for 8 a.m. Friday.

“I figured, with all the dust and that,” Lamonna said.

Her home is in an area officials have designated as the evacuation zone. Residents in that area are to be evacuated by 7 a.m. Lamonna already had booked a trip to North Dakota for that weekend, so she’ll be out of town.

“I’m petrified,” Lamonna said. “I told (my son), ‘Text me as soon as it’s done.’ ”

She intends to close every opening in her home — which is what officials recommend — and also will unplug electronics.

Her neighbor, Lorraine Parks, also intends to unplug everything. She recalled the June 2 smokestack implosion at the former power plant site. In that implosion, officials said the smokestacks fell where they were intended to fall, but an air burst from one of the stacks knocked out power lines along Pittsburgh Street.

For Friday’s implosion, utility providers have implemented plans for continuity of service and will have representatives on the scene to remediate any issues that arise, officials said.

Parks said she feels her home vibrate every once in a while when crews are working across the street at the plant. During the June implosion, she said her home was only impacted by the power outage and some broken picture frames.

“I can’t wait until this is over. I really can’t wait,” Parks said. “I’m excited to see what they do next with it.”

She intends to evacuate her home Friday morning.

On nearby Lincoln Avenue, Nancy Ullger will be taking some of her neighbors, including Donna Dezera, to the Eat’n Park in Frazer to wait out the implosion.

“We’re all a little nervous,” Ullger said.

Officials said they intend to let people in the evacuation zones return to their homes at 11 a.m. Friday. Side streets near the plant will close at 5 a.m.; Pittsburgh Street will be closed from Murrayhill Avenue in Cheswick to Colfax Street in Springdale beginning at 7 a.m. No one will be permitted to come or go after 7 a.m., and officials say violators will be detained.

Police are asking people to cooperate with them and the contractors to ensure everyone’s safety and to minimize inconvenience.

“I’ll just be glad when it’s over and done with,” said Dezera, who has lived on Lincoln Avenue for over 40 years.

Dezera gave the company credit for their cleanup efforts from the first implosion.

But she is still nervous about Friday’s blast.

“We’re scared. I’m not going to deny that,” she said. “No one’s going to deny that.”