West Reading, PA (CNN) — The National Transportation Safety Board has released new documents related to the deadly chocolate factory explosion in Pennsylvania last year.
On March 24, 2023, seven employees were killed, nearly a dozen were injured and residents in West Reading had to leave their homes.
The new report details a timeline of events leading up to and after the explosion.
“Second Avenue and Penn Avenue we have explosion with an active fire. We have a number of damaged buildings. We are shutting down Penn Street."
The NTSB has released 151 documents related to its investigation into the deadly explosion at RM Palmer Company, which detail the investigators' findings leading up to and in the aftermath of the blast.
The documents include photos from the scene, reports from UGI and interviews and statements with the company’s CEO.
The explosion leveled building two and damaged building one, along with other buildings, on South Second Avenue in West Reading in March of last year.
Seven employees were killed, eleven people were hurt and people living in three nearby homes were forced from their homes.
The NTSB says that at the time of the explosion, more than 100 people were working in both Palmer buildings.
Officials say some employees reported the smell of gas shortly before building two exploded and no evacuation order was given.
Employees told investigators that they were not trained on how to respond to a natural gas emergency.
The documents say the CEO told the board that employees were allowed to self-evacuate, though he was unsure if this was communicated to employees.
The NTSB also found that the company’s emergency preparedness plan addresses food and safety but had no procedures regarding natural gas emergencies.
Officials say building two exploded due to a natural gas leak, though what ignited the gas is still not known.
The report says due to the gas levels, an ignition source could almost be anything, even something as simple as turning on a light.
Several safety related changes have been made since the incident, including the addition of natural gas detectors to other buildings and a gas leak procedure instruction for employees.
In October, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in its report that RM Palmer could have prevented the tragedy by following required safety procedures and evacuated employees when they smelled the gas leak.
The company disputes the claims in that report.
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