PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two years after an explosion leveled two houses in Port Richmond, the community is still looking for answers. People who live near the site have filed a personal injury lawsuit against PECO, Philadelphia Gas Works and others.
Five people were hurt in the blast that happened on Miller Street on New Year’s Day 2023. The cause of the explosion is still a mystery.
“You feel forgotten,” said Ken Paul, who lives on Miller Street.
Paul is president of Port Richmond on Patrol and Civic, a community organization.
“You know, a lot of lives were affected here. Thirtysome-odd houses with major damage. A lot of displacement. People that weren’t able to come back,” he said. “And they’re still looking for answers.”
There are still clear signs of the blast at the corner of Miller and East Atlantic streets. A vacant space where three homes stood before the blast.
“This is what I look at every day now, is a giant empty yard,” he said.
Across the street, another house still has boarded-up windows, as does a nearby recreation center.
“And I still have people from this block—‘Do you hear anything? Do you know something?’ It’s like: Please, somebody tell them something. I don’t have any answers.”
But officials still have not settled on a cause for the explosion.
“Six months, year anniversary came. It’s like: Hey what’s going on?” he said.
“Reach out to the officials. They’re trying to get answers. Nobody’s getting answers. Same thing all the time: ‘Still under investigation.’”
Now a group of frustrated neighbors have resorted to legal action against a number of entities, including PECO and Philadelphia Gas Works. Ken isn’t part of the suit but he understands the exasperation.
“It’s accountability. Somebody has to be accountable for what happened.”
PGW said in a statement it found nothing wrong with any of its natural gas mains or service pipes and no leaks were found. A spokesperson added, “As the incident did not involve PGW’s mains or service pipes, PGW has no further updates or information and cannot comment on pending litigation.”
PECO said the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission did not find any evidence that public utility equipment caused the blast.
“We do not comment on pending legal matters,” a PECO spokesperson said in a statement. “However, we can confirm that PECO does not have record of being served in this matter and that PECO and Exelon should not be parties to this lawsuit.”