2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016
Firefi ghter thrown up to 20 feet
in Portland gas explosion, fi re
Astoria AAUW holds
candidates, measures
forum on Wednesday
The Astoria branch of
the American Associa-
tion of University Women
(AAUW) is hosting and
moderating a public Can-
didates and Ballot Measure
Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday
in Room 219 of Columbia
Hall at Clatsop Community
College.
The fi rst hour offers
information and questions
for Astoria City Council
PORTLAND — An injured
fi refi ghter who’s being hailed
as a hero for helping to evacu-
ate a building before a power-
ful gas explosion in a Portland
shopping district said he was
tossed up to 20 feet by the blast.
The explosion hurt eight
people Wednesday morning,
demolished a three-story his-
toric building and ignited a fi re
that sent a plume of smoke over
the city. Three fi refi ghters, two
police offi cers and three civil-
ians were injured.
None of the injuries were
life-threatening.
Portland Fire & Rescue Lt.
Peter St. John blacked out after
the explosion and awoke in
pain as chaos unfolded around
him, he said in an interview
Thursday from his hospital bed.
The blast broke his left
femur and the tibia and fi bula
of his right leg, he said.
“I got thrown across the
street, and I was tied up in a
chain-link fence on the ground,”
he said Thursday. “I tried to wig-
gle my toes because I couldn’t
move my legs ... Then I looked
at my right leg, I knew it was
broken at that point.”
Weekend Break section
debuts today in Astorian
Color comics
on Friday soon
The Daily Astorian
Starting today, The Daily
Astorian’s C section on Fri-
days becomes Weekend
Break, a features section
grouping a Writer’s Notebook
or local feature with the TV
grids, comics, Dear Annie,
horoscopes and a new color-
ful Kids Scoop page. Begin-
ning Nov. 4, comic strips will
run in color on Fridays.
“Our goal is to fi ll the C
section with news and fea-
tures you can read and use
all weekend long,” said
Laura Sellers, managing edi-
tor of The Daily Astorian.
“By making better use of the
space in the third section, we
gain more space in the news
pages for local news, pho-
tos and features, along with
state, national and interna-
tional news that affect the
North Coast.
“We want enlarge the sec-
tion travel, leisure and books,
as well,”
A hero
Fire Chief Mike Myers said
Wednesday that St. John ran
inside the building to pull fi re
alarms and called the young
lieutenant a hero, but St. John
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
62
51
47
A shower early;
otherwise, rather cloudy
62
51
Mostly cloudy; afternoon
rain, breezy
evacuated from the scene, he
noticed live power lines nearby
and heard at least one more
explosion, he said.
On Thursday, Myers reit-
erated that the heroism of St.
John and others prevented a far
worse outcome.
“I fully expected to get here
and have fi refi ghter fatalities,”
he said, adding that from the call
he received he expected to fi nd
“numbers of fi refi ghters down.”
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
candidates Tom Bronson,
Bruce Allen and Cory Ped-
erson and Oregon House
District 32 candidates Debo-
rah Boone and Bruce Bobek.
The second hour consists of
hearing arguments for and
against Ballot Measure 97.
Written questions from
the audience are being orga-
nized by the AAUW and
asked by moderator Patricia
Garner, a member of Astoria
AAUW and the state Public
Policy representative.
The Daily Astorian
TUESDAY
60
50
Cloudy and breezy with a
little rain
60
49
Reduced to rubble
Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian
Lt. Peter St. John of Portland Fire & Rescue lies in a bed, re-
covering from surgery at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center,
Thursday in Portland. St. John was injured during a natural
gas explosion near a construction site Wednesday.
said he doesn’t agree.
He did evacuate the build-
ing and order the fi re trucks
to move back, he said, but
he looked for fi re alarms and
couldn’t fi nd any.
Other members of his team
helped with evacuations and
pulled alarms, he said.
“I feel like I’m not a hero.
I just did what everyone else
would have done,” he said. “It’s
our job. We’re to go in and pro-
tect the citizens, and that’s what
I did.”
St. John, a father of three,
underwent lengthy surgery
Wednesday to insert a rod in
his leg bone, but he appeared in
good spirits Thursday.
He spoke softly from a
reclining position in his hospi-
tal bed. He had small cuts on
his forehead, cheeks, hands and
ears from debris from the blast.
When fi rst-responders fi rst
pulled up, the gas was so thick
the fi refi ghters could see waves
in the air, St. John said.
He and other fi refi ght-
ers decided to don protective
masks, he said.
“That’s about right when the
explosion happened, when we
got our masks,” he said. “Next
thing I knew, I saw the explo-
sion from the basement to the
third fl oor.”
The building blew up in
three blasts — one for each
level— with a slight pause
between each boom, he said.
“I think there was fi re
because I saw orange. I must
have blacked out a little ...
because I felt the heat wave
push me back and the next thing
I knew I was on the ground, just
in pain,” he said.
As St. John waited to be
OBITUARY
Breezy with occasional
rain
Periods of rain
The blast reduced to rub-
ble a 110-year-old building that
housed a bagel shop and other
businesses in the popular NW
23rd Street shopping district.
The walls and windows of
a nearby building were blown
out, and businesses three blocks
away reported that their doors
fl ew open from the force of the
blast.
The intersections near the
blast site were still closed
Thursday.
NW Natural released a
timeline saying the explosion
occurred at 9:38 a.m., when
many businesses were still
closed.
Portland’s Northwest 23rd
Street — nicknamed “Trendy
Third” — is packed with bou-
tiques, bars and restaurants.
Many are on street level with
pricey apartments on the upper
levels and a day care facility in
the vicinity.
Construction
workers
nicked a three-quarter-inch nat-
ural gas line outside the build-
ing and gas collected inside.
But the ignition source has yet
to be determined.
Donald Melvin Brunner
ALMANAC
REGIONAL WEATHER
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
47/62
Astoria through Thursday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 62°/49°
Normal high/low ........................... 60°/44°
Record high ............................ 76° in 1938
Record low ............................. 33° in 1949
Tillamook
47/61
Oct 22
New
Oct 30
Coos Bay
48/64
Full
Nov 7
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
12:59 a.m.
1:08 p.m.
Low
-0.1 ft.
2.8 ft.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
Hi
69
69
54
75
62
55
77
24
85
56
62
85
94
66
87
62
80
76
69
79
60
68
72
59
78
Klamath Falls
32/60
Lakeview
32/62
Ashland
43/63
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
Hi
61
59
59
62
58
63
65
61
59
62
Today
Lo
31
34
48
46
50
32
44
45
48
49
W
c
pc
c
sh
r
pc
r
sh
sh
sh
Hi
57
61
59
63
60
60
65
61
60
64
Sat.
Lo W
33
c
41
c
51
c
48
c
53
r
34 pc
44
c
49
c
51
r
53
r
City
Olympia
Pendleton
Portland
Roseburg
Salem
Seaside
Spokane
Springfi eld
Vancouver
Yakima
Hi
58
58
62
61
62
60
54
61
61
62
Today
Lo
44
44
48
46
46
49
41
45
49
38
W
r
c
sh
sh
sh
r
c
c
sh
c
Hi
59
61
63
66
62
61
53
64
62
62
Sat.
Lo
45
42
49
50
49
53
40
48
50
41
W
c
pc
c
c
c
r
pc
c
c
pc
TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Lo
47
60
36
40
43
38
51
6
75
38
45
63
60
44
69
41
60
54
47
53
43
48
56
47
50
Burns
32/60
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
Tonight's Sky: The Orionid meteor shower will peak
tonight (20 per hour).
High
7.3 ft.
7.7 ft.
Ontario
41/65
Roseburg
46/66
Brookings
48/59
Nov 14
Baker
31/57
John Day
41/60
Bend
34/61
Medford
44/65
UNDER THE SKY
Time
7:34 a.m.
6:57 p.m.
Prineville
34/63
Lebanon
44/64
Eugene
46/63
First
La Grande
41/60
Salem
46/62
Newport
48/60
SUN AND MOON
Sunset tonight ........................... 6:18 p.m.
Sunrise Saturday ........................ 7:43 a.m.
Moonrise today ........................ 11:29 p.m.
Moonset today ........................... 1:43 p.m.
Pendleton
44/61
The Dalles
45/64
Portland
48/63
Precipitation
Thursday .......................................... 0.70"
Month to date ................................. 13.35"
Normal month to date ....................... 3.23"
Year to date .................................... 56.32"
Normal year to date ........................ 43.72"
Last
Astoria
March 31, 1925 — Oct. 16, 2016
W
s
r
pc
s
s
sh
s
pc
sh
pc
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
t
s
t
s
s
s
c
t
Hi
66
65
60
80
71
53
83
23
83
59
71
90
82
70
85
65
76
55
76
58
69
71
68
59
61
Sat.
Lo
46
43
43
43
50
42
55
4
75
46
52
65
60
50
67
44
59
45
53
45
53
49
54
48
47
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
s
sh
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
r
s
pc
s
pc
s
c
pc
Donald Melvin Brunner, a lifelong Clat- ing and fi shing. He was especially fond of his
sop County resident, died on Oct. 16, 2016, in two grandchildren, and loved going to their
Renton, Washington. He was born on March baseball and soccer games.
31, 1925, in Olney, to Oscar Brunner and Anna
On June 12, 1948, he married Jean Johnson,
Sunell Brunner. He resided in Olney
who survives. Also surviving are a
with his family until the early 1940s
daughter and son-in-law, Donna Jean
when they moved to the Alderbrook
and Eric Moberly of Renton, Wash-
area of Astoria, where he continued to
ington; two grandchildren, Andrew
and Catherine Moberly; several nieces
live.
and nephews; and many cousins.
Prior to World War II, he was
All of his siblings predeceased
employed by CRPA Cannery, later
him; brothers Chester and Jack
to become Bumble Bee Seafoods.
Brunner, and sisters Rose (Dotty)
During the war, he participated in the
Sorensen, Lillian Strom and Betty
Normandy i nvasion with the Blue
Schwartzenbach.
and Gray 29th Army Infantry Divi-
At his request, there will be no
sion. After his discharge in 1946, he Donald Brunner
funeral. A private internment will be
was employed by Holmes Motor Co.
at Ocean View Cemetery.
in the body and fender department.
Memorial contributions may be made to the
Subsequently, he became a logger with W & W
Logging, Martin Nygaard Logging and D & R American Heart Association or the American
Cancer Society.
Timber Company. He retired in 1986.
Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary is in
Don was a lifetime member of the Elks,
BPOE No. 180, a member of the Ameri- charge of the arrangements. An online guest
can Legion Post No. 12 and the Brownsmead book to leave condolences may be signed at
Grange. He loved the outdoors, especially hunt- www.caldwellsmortuary.com
CORRECTION
LOTTERIES
Name misspelled — Robert Stricklin serves on the Skipanon
Water Control District. His last name was misspelled in a 1A
story Wednesday about the Eighth Street Dam.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Seaside City Council, 7 p.m.,
City Hall, 989 Broadway.
TUESDAY
Clatsop Care Health District
Board, noon, Clatsop Care
Memory Community, 2219 S.E.
Dolphin Road, Warrenton.
Astoria Library Board, 5:30
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
p.m., Astoria Public Library Flag
Room, 450 10th St.
Warrenton City Commission, 6
p.m., City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Astoria Traffic Safety Committee,
6:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Astoria Planning Commis-
sion, immediately following
Traffi c Safety Committee, City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
OREGON
Thursday’s Pick 4:
1 p.m.: 8-3-9-2
4 p.m.: 9-9-7-1
7 p.m.: 5-9-0-1
10 p.m.: 7-6-0-5
WASHINGTON
Thursday’s Daily Game:
1-0-9
Thursday’s Keno: 02-03-
19-22-23-27-29-31-32-35-
41-55-62-66-71-73-74-75-
78-79
Thursday’s Match 4: 03-11-
12-14
OBITUARY POLICY
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for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 9 a.m. the business
day prior.
Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and
upcoming services will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by 9 a.m. the
day of publication.
Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at www.dailyastorian.com/forms/obits, by
email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Daily
Astorian offi ce, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext.
257.
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Established July 1, 1873
(USPS 035-000)
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