PA - 2 killed, 9 missing, explosion at chocolate factory - West Reading, 24 Mar 2023

[ifindedout]

2 dead in explosion at West Reading chocolate factory

Two people are dead and nine are unaccounted for after an explosion and fire at R.M. Palmer Company on South Second Avenue in West Reading.

www.wfmz.com

Two people were killed and nine are unaccounted for after an explosion and fire at R.M. Palmer Company in West Reading, officials reported Friday night.

The explosion happened around 4:57 p.m. Friday at the company's chocolate factory on South Second Avenue. Officials say the explosion was followed by a fire and then a secondary explosion.

PEMA says a gas leak was potentially the cause of the explosion, but that has not yet been confirmed.

40°20'03.9"N 75°56'31.3"W · 17 S 2nd Ave, West Reading, PA 19611

17 S 2nd Ave, West Reading, PA 19611

www.google.com

Norfolk Southern, which runs in back of the factory, can bypass the area by going through the city of Reading, for trains to Philadelphia. Trains going to Allentown and North Jersey aren't affected.

RIP to the victims.

 

[sds71]

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — Officials raise death toll to 5 in Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion; 6 people remain missing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1639597933245890560

 

[steeltowngirl]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1639429885931270144

 

[passionflower]

WEST READING, Pa. (AP) — Officials raise death toll to 5 in Pennsylvania chocolate factory explosion; 6 people remain missing.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1639597933245890560

RIP

 

[Gemmie]

Did you guys happen to notice what looks like a rocket coming out of that? I'm pretty positive it is NOT a rocket, that's just how I'd describe what it looks like. It kinda corkscrews too. I wonder what it is?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1639429885931270144

 

[Richrd]

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[ifindedout]

Did you guys happen to notice what looks like a rocket coming out of that? I'm pretty positive it is NOT a rocket, that's just how I'd describe what it looks like. It kinda corkscrews too. I wonder what it is?

View attachment 411106

SBM
Cylinder containing compressed gas. They can take off like a rocket when ruptured, doesn't have to be propane or even flammable.

 

[Gemmie]

SBM
Cylinder containing compressed gas. They can take off like a rocket when ruptured, doesn't have to be propane or even flammable.

And thank you for shortening my post before replying. I don't know what all that garbage was after the 5 pics I circled. All I posted was the Twitter URL after the pics and I ended up with all that other stuff. lol

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The chocolate factory is just west of the Schuylkill and one block from Penn Avenue, a busy thoroughfare lined with cafes, ice cream shops and restaurants in West Reading, a borough of about 4,500 people that is about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

A two-story factory building was flattened in the explosion, and on Saturday an excavator moved through mounds of damaged wood and warped metal where it once stood.

Frankie Gonzalez, 40, stood on a hillside overlooking the damage on Saturday afternoon, waiting for an update on his sister, Diana Cedeno, 45, a factory worker who has been missing since the explosion.

Mr. Gonzalez said that his family had waited at the hospital all night, unsure if Ms. Cedeno was even there. He said that Ms. Cedeno, who is married and has a 25-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter, packaged candy at the factory.

Mr. Gonzalez said other workers had told him that before the explosion, they had been warning each other that they smelled natural gas and reported it to plant managers. He said that his son and a nephew had worked at the factory within the past year and had also told their supervisors they smelled gas.

Death Toll Rises to 7 in Chocolate Factory Explosion (Published 2023)

One person was found alive in the rubble overnight on Friday after an explosion at the R.M. Palmer Company chocolate factory in West Reading, Pa., officials said.

www.nytimes.com

"It was the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life," Kristen Wisniewski, who lives three blocks from the factory, told local TV station 6abc. "It literally felt like the ground fell out from underneath you. The whole house shook and my dogs froze. They couldn't move, it was scary."

The company has made "seasonal chocolate novelties" since 1948 and employs 850 people at its West Reading headquarters, about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

"R.M. Palmer has been a presence in the community for decades now," West Reading Borough Council Vice President Phil Wert said, donating candy to Easter egg hunts and giving back to the community. He said it's the first responders' and elected officials' responsibility "to give back to them because they've given to us.

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/25/1166042636/pennsylvania-chocolate-factory-explosion

 

[Gemmie]

Mr. Gonzalez said other workers had told him that before the explosion, they had been warning each other that they smelled natural gas and reported it to plant managers. He said that his son and a nephew had worked at the factory within the past year and had also told their supervisors they smelled gas.

Death Toll Rises to 7 in Chocolate Factory Explosion (Published 2023)

One person was found alive in the rubble overnight on Friday after an explosion at the R.M. Palmer Company chocolate factory in West Reading, Pa., officials said.

www.nytimes.com

SBMFF

If that's the case (that some reported smelling gas to supervisors) and if nothing was done about it... they should be sued. And I'm not a sue happy kind of gal. I've had the option to sue someone and said no. The judge asked me to be sure and I said I was sure. Just statin' that I'm not into suing everyone that walks by. Unless something was definitely their fault. So that makes me wonder if the gas company was ever called out to investigate the smell of gas. They should have been IMO.

I don't even have gas but have seen enough ads to know that if you smell it, you immediately leave and call the gas co. They come out and give the all clear before you should reenter the building.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

One man spoke with CBS News Philadelphia who says his sister was in the building when it exploded.

"You didn't expect it to happen," Frankie Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez came to the site of the explosion Saturday searching for answers on the whereabouts of his 45-year-old sister, Diana Cedeño. The married mother of two went to work at R.M. Palmer Company the day before but never came home.

"Lost," Gonzalez said. "Like a piece of me is missing."

RM Palmer Company
Everyone at RM Palmer is devastated by the tragic events at one of our West Reading facilities and we are focused on supporting our employees and their families. We have lost close friends and colleagues, and our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all who have been impacted. We are sincerely grateful for the extraordinary efforts of all of the first responders and for the support of our Reading community, which has been home to our business for more than 70 years. We will continue to coordinate closely with local and national agencies to assist in the recovery process.

We are anxious to be in touch with all employees and the families of employees who have been impacted, but the company's email, phones, and other communication systems are down, and therefore we are relying currently on first responders and disaster recovery organizations to provide any available information to impacted families. We will be providing additional information and making contact with employees, impacted families, and the community as soon as possible

"A piece of me is missing": Family is hopeful to find sister after explosion at chocolate factory

Two people are dead and five are still missing after a fire at R.M. Palmer Company chocolate factory

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Tbone144]

I’m hoping that the explosion occurred before they had a chance to evacuate..ie their concerns weren’t brushed aside. There will be lawsuits regardless, with good reason.

 

[ifindedout]

Person pulled alive from rubble:

Person pulled alive from RM Palmer rubble in West Reading

"The discovery of life overnight, of the overnight recovery efforts, provides hope that others still may be found."

www.wfmz.com

West Reading officials shared a bit of good news on Saturday, more than 17 hours after an explosion and 4-alarm fire reduced a chocolate factory's building to rubble.

The borough's police chief announced during a news conference that rescue crews pulled a person alive from beneath the mounds of debris overnight.

"The discovery of life overnight, of the overnight recovery efforts, provides hope that others still may be found," said Chief Wayne Holben.

 

[airportwoman]

I have a feeling this is going to be yet another case of "we didn't follow the rules because we employed people who really didn't matter."

Until they did.

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1639996789968326657

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640007665123225601

 

[steeltowngirl]

SBMFF

If that's the case (that some reported smelling gas to supervisors) and if nothing was done about it... they should be sued. And I'm not a sue happy kind of gal. I've had the option to sue someone and said no. The judge asked me to be sure and I said I was sure. Just statin' that I'm not into suing everyone that walks by. Unless something was definitely their fault. So that makes me wonder if the gas company was ever called out to investigate the smell of gas. They should have been IMO.

I don't even have gas but have seen enough ads to know that if you smell it, you immediately leave and call the gas co. They come out and give the all clear before you should reenter the building.

A UGI Utilities spokesperson said crews were brought in after damage from the blast led to the release of gas that was helping to feed the fire.

“We did not receive any calls regarding a gas leak or gas order prior to the incident, but we are cooperating with the investigation and part of that will be to check all our facilities in the vicinity,” UGI spokesperson Joseph Swope said Saturday.

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/25/1166042636/pennsylvania-chocolate-factory-explosion

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640015956175904770

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640017132829175811

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640043330024120322

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 26, 2023

5 dead, 2 missing after explosion at chocolate factory

Three people are dead, four are missing and several others are injured after an explosion at a chocolate factory Friday in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

abc7.com

• Five people are dead, two are missing and several others are injured,
• A fIfth dead body had been pulled from the rubble at the site of the factory and one person was found alive overnight in the rubble.
• Crews continue to search for survivors.
• Officials are expected to provide another update on its search for the missing two individuals at 9 p.m. Sunday.
• Tower Heath said its' hospital in West Reading received 10 patients from the explosion.
• Of those, two were admitted and are in good and fair condition and six have been discharged. Two others were transferred to other hospitals, it said.
• The explosion occurred around 4:57 p.m. and caused destruction to a building nearby and damaged another.
• Mayor Kaag, a former volunteer firefighter, called the incident "pretty scary," adding that it was so strong it pushed a building back four feet.

 

[PommyMommy]

My heart hurts for this family. We need another miracle!

MAR 26, 2023

Family of missing Palmer woman waits and prays for news

The Gonzales family says they lost their mother early in life and Diana filled that role for them, always being there for them, so they say they will stay here

www.wfmz.com

For the Gonzalez family, it's a painful waiting game.

In a parking lot above the R.M. Palmer blast site, Diana Cedeno's six brothers and extended family watch with binoculars, hoping she will be brought out of the rubble alive.

"I know there is the sub floor. I'm hoping there's a little spot down there that's where she's at, you know that she found a place to hide, you know, or that she stuck somewhere," said brother Frankie Gonzales.

[...]

The Gonzales family says they lost their mother early in life and Diana filled that role for them, always being there for them, so they say they will stay here for her.