Malfunctioning turbine fills town night with ‘jet engine’ sounds
By Veronica Haynes, Peter Eliopoulos
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SAUGUS, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Officials on the North Shore have scheduled an emergency meeting after a loud noise like “jet fighters” boomed across a Massachusetts town for about 20 minutes Monday night.
According to Saugus Fire, at about 8:30 p.m., the Wheelabrator WIN Waste Innovations facility on Route 107 experienced an “upset condition” that forced the facility to vent steam “without the opportunity to route it through the silencers.”
“All the sudden this noise came up — it sounded like someone was dragging a car down the street no rims on it. Just an intense sound,” said neighbor Kevin Baumann, who has lived near the facility for 26 years. “It was awful. It woke us up, drowned out the TV … couldn’t even hear it.”
Saugus Firefighters Local 1003 said the noise was caused by a turbine malfunction. The fire department was inundated by more than 100 calls about the sound.
“During a scheduled weekly test of the turbine generator, an issue with a valve not functioning properly caused the venting of steam that was both visible and audible,” WIN Waste spokeswoman Mary Urban said in a statement to WCVB.
Residents in Saugus, Peabody, Melrose and Revere reported hearing the sound.
“It sounded like jet engines. It was really really loud,” said neighbor Nina Johnson. “I didn’t know if a plane was crashing or something. It was really really loud.”
“It sounded almost like an airport, like I don’t know — 15 jets landing at the same time. It was so loud,” said Camille Donnelly. “I called 911, and they said, ‘If you’re really afraid, we’ll come pick you up and bring you somewhere else until it’s over.'”
A plant representative received an earful from residents at a Saugus Board of Health emergency meeting Tuesday night. “We’re sincerely apologetic for it happening but it’s the first time we’ve had a malfunction of the silencer since its been installed,” Peter DiCecco, the Winn Waste vice president of operations, said.
The acting mayor of Revere, Patrick Keefe Jr., is calling for the closure of the WIN Waste facility in Saugus.
“The events of last night are just the latest example of the disrespect and utter disregard for people of the leaders by WIN Waste Management. The WIN Waste Facility at 200 Salem Turnpike is unsafe, and its lack of emergency operational procedures is unacceptable,” Keefe Jr. said in a statement. “The residents of Revere should never have to endure up to 30 minutes of continuous noise at levels loud enough to reverberate across four districts of our city — frightening family pets and causing harm to those already anxious, with no accountability from the company responsible.”
The plant was taken offline, and the noise ended at about 8:50 p.m., Saugus Fire and the company said.
The company said in a statement that the cause of the malfunction was identified, and the plant was brought back online without incident.
“At no time was there any threat to public or environmental health and safety. We understand that the noise was disruptive and, in some instances, even startling to our neighbors, and for that we sincerely apologize,” Urban’s statement said. “We will continue to take the necessary steps to avoid any recurrence.”
No injuries were reported.
The Saugus Board of Health made no decisions at a Tuesday night meeting, but could consider issuing violations as early as this week.
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