Overview

When disaster strikes, will you be prepared for the backlash? On September 13, 2018, a series of natural gas explosions on a Columbia Gas of Massachusetts (CMA) pipeline system devastated the Merrimack Valley, just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Twenty-one people were injured, and one person was killed. Thousands of residents in the towns of Andover and North Andover as well as the city of Lawrence were left without heat or hot water for months for months, causing CMA and its parent company, NiSource, to race against mother nature to replace nearly 45 miles of pipeline and thousands of appliances to affected residents, before the cold northeastern winter bore down on the area. The Valley is Burning: When Communications Becomes the Crisis examines the communications function during the event-what went right, what went wrong, and key takeaways from a communicator who worked side-by-side with project leadership to ensure the communities and public received the information they needed while enduring intense public and media scrutiny, heavy political pressure and backlash, multiple investigations, shifting timelines, economic uncertainty, a deep freeze, and the emotional holiday season.

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"""As National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on-scene spokesperson for over 35 accidents, including the Merrimack Valley accident, I have made plenty of mistakes. Looking back, I wish I had the benefit of reading The Valley is Burning: When Communications Becomes the Crisis before stepping into my NTSB communications role."" -Robert L. Sumwalt III, NTSB Board Member, 2006-2021; NTSB Chairman, 2017-2021"

Author Information

About the Author: Sarah Barczyk has spent most of her career in the energy, oil and natural gas industries where she focused on strategic communications planning, executive and thought leadership, crisis communications, as well as writing, editing and public relations work. She has led communications for multiple challenging restoration and recovery efforts by creating and implementing integrated communications plans. Sarah currently serves as president of Four Score Strategies, a strategic communications consulting firm serving a variety of industries and companies, and is an adjunct professor in the communications field. Robert L. Sumwalt is the Executive Director of the Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Previously he served as Board Member, Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, where he served for 15 years. He served under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. While at the Board, Member Sumwalt was a fierce advocate for improving safety in all modes of transportation, including teen driver safety, impaired driving, distractions in transportation, and several aviation and rail safety initiatives. He remains active in advocating transportation safety matters.

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