Port Richmond residents sue PGW, PECO, city and neighbors over 2023 explosion that leveled homes

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Residents of the street in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood where a massive explosion destroyed three rowhouses on New Year’s Day in 2023 are suing PGW, PECO and the city of Philadelphia — and in one case, their neighbors — over what they say was negligence.

One suit, filed by the estate of Waldemar Janiszewski, a 70-year-old man who allegedly died more than a year after the explosion as a result of his injuries, describes “16 months of horrific pain and suffering,” including a fractured sternum and ribs, a collapsed lung, a traumatic brain injury and a medically induced coma.

“Our hope is to achieve justice,” said Michael Budner, a lawyer with the personal injury law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky. He filed the suit on behalf of Janiszewski’s estate and another person, Michael Schofield, who lived on Miller Street during the explosion.

The lawsuit is the latest of three separate suits filed by residents of the street in the month before the two-year statute of limitations expired Jan. 1. The early-morning explosion injured five people and damaged dozens of homes on Miller Street, as well as the nearby Samuel Recreation Center.

In the days following the explosion, experts told WHYY that gas was the likely culprit. But an investigation by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s safety division found no evidence that equipment belonging to a public utility caused the explosion. Investigators surveyed two PGW gas mains and the service lines beneath the street and found no leaks or “integrity concerns.”

PGW’s own investigation found its pipelines were in “good shape.”

The PUC and PGW investigations did not cover gas lines within homes, which are the responsibility of the homeowner. The city fire marshal’s investigation did cover gas lines inside homes, according to the PUC. The fire marshal’s investigation, which concluded last year, ruled the fire accidental but details are not public record, said spokesperson Rachel Cunningham.

The first lawsuit, filed in early December by Angelika Kurpaska, a resident in the middle of the block, names PGW, PECO, the city and several contractors, as well as multiple other homeowners located between the plaintiff’s home and the rec center. It claims PGW, the city and the other residents failed to properly inspect and maintain natural gas systems.

Two of these other homeowners named in Kurpaska’s suit, Maria Mardula and Schofield, went on to file their own lawsuits later that month.

Those lawsuits claim the explosion was caused by a leak from a PGW pipeline that the company should have known about, as well as by underground work performed by PECO or contractors. They claim PECO and contractors had relocated a utility pole on the corner of the street.

The plaintiffs who survived the explosion described injuries including spinal fractures, a fractured tibia, a fractured pelvis, fractured ribs, burns and smoke inhalation, requiring in-patient hospitalization, out-patient treatment and therapies. They’re seeking monetary compensation.

PGW spokesperson Dan Gross noted the company’s internal investigation found all of its gas mains and service lines were in “good operating condition,” with no leaks — and that the company was released from the scene by the fire marshal in January 2023.

“Safety is PGW’s number-one priority,” Gross said. “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 spokesperson Greg Smore noted the company does not provide natural gas service to Philadelphia residents, and said there is “no evidence that PECO’s electric equipment was involved.” He pointed to the findings of the PUC’s investigation.

“PECO and Exelon should not be parties to this lawsuit,” Smore said.

A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department and another for the utility contractor Riggs Distler, as well as its parent company, Centuri, declined to comment on the pending litigation.