Gas caused deadly Nicetown home explosion, fire officials say; exact origin remains uncertain

A gas fire “of uncertain origin” caused the June 29 explosion that killed one person, hospitalized two others, and displaced residents of several nearby rowhouses in Nicetown, the Philadelphia Fire Department said Tuesday.

The fire marshal’s office was unable to identify a specific cause, spokesperson Rachel Cunningham said in an email, adding, “It can often be difficult to pinpoint a cause with this kind of damage.”

The woman who died in the collapse was in her 60s. Two women, ages 63 and 82, living in an adjacent house were taken to Temple University Hospital with burns and smoke inhalation.

Vincent Thompson, a spokesperson for City Council President Kenyatta Johnson, noted after the blast that one of the hospitalized residents was a staffer in Johnson’s office, having worked as an administrator through “many Council presidents” over the decades.

Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson warned last week that finding a cause of the blast that rocked the 1900 block of West Bristol Street could take time: The fire and explosion left a charred, rubble-filled crater where the three-story house once stood and leveled at least two others in the immediate area. And the site was both dangerous and difficult for rescue crews working in the area on foot. The fire department enlisted specialized dogs in search, rescue, and recovery efforts, as well as its attempts to find a cause for the collapse.

» READ MORE: Nicetown residents search for normalcy after explosion kills one neighbor, injures two others

Many of those displaced have since returned home, and a temporary power shutoff allowing rescue crews to work safely ended within days. But the extent of the wreckage challenged efforts to produce a detailed account of what unfolded in and around the home before it fell down.

Both Peco and Philadelphia Gas Works said the destruction could not be traced to their own infrastructure. But that did not rule out issues with appliances or inside piping that would fall outside the companies’ purview.

Staff writer Michelle Myers contributed to this article.