On the South Philly block where a sudden explosion turned deadly, an explanation came far too late
At least eight times in the last month,
But his partner just stands there, unfazed. Allen races out, barely escaping the building’s collapse, and pleads to neighbors that they’re at risk, crying, “You have to believe me, the buildings could collapse! We have to run!” But they can’t understand him.
Then, as he turns to sprint, he lurches up from his pillow, drenched in a cold sweat.
This is the new normal for the 33-year-old, since the
On Thursday, city officials announced the explosion was caused by a leak sprung by a crack in a 92-year-old natural gas main, but what caused the break remains unknown. State regulators with the
But the city’s explanation came far too late for a slice of
The lack of transparency over the last month about what happened, who was responsible, and whether there was a continued safety threat exacerbated anxiety and engendered traumatic effects, neighbors said.
Allen and his girlfriend have spent their days hugging neighbors afraid their home could be next.
Up the street, Epifania Hernández’s young grandsons have repeatedly asked her: “¿Será que va a hacer boom aquí?” -- “Are we going to go boom here?”
“We’re not hearing from [the city] proactively, which I think is leading to a lot of distrust and fear,” said
That the old, busted main was cast iron, no longer standard material because it grows brittle with age, has only made the uneasiness worse. About half of Philadelphia Gas Works’ 3,000 miles of gas mains are cast-iron.
Managing director
“At the very least,” he said, "we have to let them know what’s going on.”
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What happened?
Until Thursday, city officials declined to comment on the source of the explosion, save for Fire Commissioner
Killed were
He wore a Phillies cap and V-necks. The South Philly explosion destroyed all physical mementos of him.Wigrizer said Thursday that
“If nothing caused it, and it just happened,” he said, "then that means that we’re all at risk. It’s a frightening prospect.”
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A temporary gas main has been installed to service the homes on the block, and officials plan to put in a permanent main in spring or summer.
Without information on a cause, neighbors talked with one another, some sharing their own theories about what led to the explosion and piecing together memories of crews digging up the street in recent months.
A week after the blast, officials confirmed that both city workers and independent contractors dug up and then backfilled the street in October and November, largely due to defective pipes that caused a cave-in. Also, a new water service line was completed
Neighbors’ fears were compounded after the explosion when Thiel said a sinkhole was forming under the street. Meanwhile, water wasn’t fully restored until earlier this month, after the block’s 160-year-old water main broke multiple times after the explosion.
“Every morning we wake up and say: ‘Is that a gas leak smell? Oh, I can’t wash my clothes,’” resident
To this day, part of
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“I feel like we’ve been abandoned to our luck,” she said.
A city spokesperson said the
‘Completely unresponsive’
Allen bought the redbrick home on
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Allen has experienced what he says are the symptoms of post-traumatic stress ever since. He’s overcome with survivor’s guilt, reliving the sight of people running toward a man’s body under debris. Meanwhile, he’s spent the last month without information about why the houses blew up to begin with. He’s constantly wondering: Will my house explode? Is the street under me going to cave? Are we safe to be here?
To fall asleep, he takes over-the-counter sleep aids and sometimes drinks alcohol. It only helps sometimes. He said he plans to seek professional help.
“I don’t need no money,” Allen said. “I just need someone to tell me what’s going on and if it’s safe to be in my home.”
Then, on
Allen and Gaulrapp were not alone. PGW spokesperson
Construction workers dismantle a building next to one of the collapsed rowhouses the day after the explosion.
Gaulrapp, 29, said besides PGW coming to their home after they reported the gas odor, city officials have been “completely unresponsive." She said it was never made clear to neighbors who their point of contact in the city was or where they could direct questions about trash pickup, air quality, or services for those experiencing trauma.
“The way that it comes off to me,” Gaulrapp said, “is that the city is more concerned with bad PR than they are about the safety of their citizens and the people who live in that area.”
Hernández, 59, lives about a block from the explosion and said she’s spent most of the month “estamos con el Jesús en la boca” -- “with Jesus in the tip of the tongue,” immersed in prayer. She said it’s the uncertainty that’s been most difficult.
Several people who live in the vicinity of the collapsed homes said the only officials they heard from were volunteers with the
But they needed reassurance weeks ago, she said.
City Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the block, said while the emergency response was textbook, "we sat on our laurels and have not communicated enough or better with the neighbors to make sure they know exactly what is going on.”
Abernathy, the city managing director, on Thursday took responsibility for communication that wasn’t “strong enough” and said he’d assigned a point person to provide information about cleanup efforts and the investigation moving forward.
Lingering effects
Residents on this street just a few blocks from
The language barrier was one of the reasons some residents felt in the dark. They worried they were missing out on communications.
Asked if information was provided to residents in languages other than English, Thiel said translators were on scene the day of and the day after the explosion, but following that, “we don’t necessarily have the on-demand capability to translate into the 140-ish different languages that are spoken in the city of
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For
Two broken windows and a shattered door that won’t close remain to this day. They’re covered with tape and torn plastic bags.
“Nobody is supporting me,” she said.
Dramatic video shows firefighters diving into South Philly blaze moments after explosionAcross the street, Francis and
“The experience as a whole doesn’t go away,” Francis said. “Money doesn’t cover that.”
Ditta said among the most harrowing experiences was reentering her home after they’d been evacuated. Broken glass was on the floor, the hallways smelled of smoke, dust had rendered the floor gritty.
And the stairways had black marks that appeared to be from the firefighters, Francis said -- the ones who brushed up against the walls in a rush to stand on the roof, where they battled the flames shooting upward from what used to be the homes next door.
Staff writers
The December explosion left a large void on the 1400 block of
___
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