1 year after Philadelphia gas explosion, some Nicetown residents say they "feel forgotten"

Residents in Philadelphia's Nicetown community came together Monday to mark one year since a gas explosion killed one woman and injured two other people.

A memorial block party began in the morning along the 1900 block of Bristol Street at the site of the explosion.

The event happened as neighbors told CBS News Philadelphia they're still processing the trauma they experienced last year.

"I've been through things in my life that no one should ever have gone through, and I've always bounced back," said Linda, who lives in the neighborhood. "But this has mentally, physically destroyed me."

The explosion on June 29, 2025, triggered the partial collapse of three rowhomes and significantly damaged at least four others, including some on Bonitz Street.

Diane Sanders owns one of the rowhomes on Bonitz Street that sustained major damage.

She finally got to move back to her home last month following major repairs.

"I heard the one comment, 'Oh, we haven't forgotten,'" Sanders said. "I feel forgotten."

Other homes still have boarded-up windows and exposed facades, and Sanders said illegal dumping has become a problem.

"I want to see people be neighborly to one another, be helpers of one another, just like we used to," Sanders said. "Now, it's not like this anymore. It's not like it at all. It's different."

Saleema Lovelace owned one of the three rowhomes destroyed in the explosion.

Lovelace's dad and uncle lived there at the time. She remembers her uncle's call the morning of the tragedy.

"I got a call at 4:30 in the morning," she said. "My uncle called me and told me the house blew up. I couldn't believe it. I thought I was dreaming."

Monday was Lovelace's first time being back on the block after the explosion. She was overwhelmed with emotion.

"I've never been this close," Lovelace said. "I never been in this space because it affects me. It really affects me."

The explosion was so hard to process that longtime neighbors decided to leave.

Tawanda Davis moved from her home on Bristol Street in March, but the explosion still haunts her.

"I still can hear that boom that day," Davis said. "I was in the bathroom with my granddaughter. I will never forget that. When I came back to my room, all my windows were gone. And I can hear my neighbor screaming. I will never forget that."

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission believed the gas explosion was caused by a failure inside one of the rowhomes on the customer side of the gas meter, which would be outside the commission's jurisdiction.

Gail Pryor runs URtheKey North Philadelphia Block Captains & Community Association, which has been helping neighbors recover by connecting them with resources and offering training on how to prepare for future disasters.

"The hope that these people had has been lost," Pryor said. "You don't see anyone out here. I think that, and I feel that they have been overlooked."

Organizers viewed Monday's memorial block party as a chance to bring neighbors together and connect them with needed resources.

Councilmembers Cindy Bass, who represents Nicetown, and Kendra Brooks, who's from Nicetown, urged residents who need help to call their council offices or meet with staff members at Monday's event.

But as painful as the tragedy was, the tight-knit community is resilient.

One year after the explosion, neighbors on Bristol Street came together to celebrate with a block party and reflect on that fateful day.

Neighbors were also honored with roses, a bittersweet gesture to let them know they are not forgotten. 

The explosion may have destroyed three homes, but the soul of the community still stands.