More than a week after a Pottstown house explosion killed four children and an adult, there are no answers on the cause and a frustrating lack of information for displaced residents.
four children and an adult, there are no answers on the cause of the blast and little informationPottstown officials said Thursday that a two-day assessment of the area had identified houses that were unlivable, and the borough wouldn’t provide further public updates until the investigation is complete. State officials said the investigation might take a year or more to finish., declined to comment Friday, citing the investigation.
“The way I truly feel is I would like to know what’s going on. Because I lost everything, just like all these other families. ... How am I supposed to move forward? What’s my next step?” Cotton said Friday. Like Cotton, Tandra Rambert, who has lived in the house next to the explosion since 2008, just wants to know what’s going to happen to her home and what her next steps are. Rambert has been staying at a Residence Inn in Malvern, the room covered by her homeowner’s insurance. She and her 20-year-old son are living in one room while they wait for updates.windows were blown out and the floors buckled.
to determine the cause, alongside Pottstown officials, the commission said. The commission said it would take immediate action to address safety concerns, butThe lack of details from officials appears to be following a standard script for responding to the public after a gas incident, which was articulated in 2016 by Paul Metro, the now-retired manager of pipeline safety for the PUC.
Peco Energy has said a chemical analysis of residues from the explosion did not implicate natural gas from itsNeither the occupied house on Hale Street where the explosion is believed to have originated nor a vacant adjoining twin house that was destroyed was connected to Peco’s natural gas mains, the utility said.