NTSB Blames Faulty Equipment For 2016 Deadly Apartment Explosion

SILVER SPRING, MD — The National Transportation Safety Board says faulty venting equipment is the most likely cause of a deadly natural gas explosion at a Silver Spring apartment complex, according to multiple outlets.

Seven people were killed and dozens were injured after the explosion at Flower Branch Apartments on Aug. 10, 2016. For more than two years, the NTSB has been investigating the incident. But the agency's prolonged probe has drawn the ire of several government and court officials.

At a meeting Tuesday in Washington, D.C., the agency released the probable cause of the explosion at the garden-style complex.

In announcing its findings, the board said it found a faulty regulator that wasn't connected to a vent pipe. More specifically, investigators explained that "the failure of an indoor mercury service regulator, with an unconnected vent line," allowed natural gas to leak into the meter room, "where it accumulated, and ignited from an unknown ignition source," per WTOP.

Washington Gas is the company responsible for maintaining the equipment for the apartment complex and has disputed the findings, according to the Associated Press.

Before the explosion, residents had raised the issue of the lingering smell of natural gas in the area.

Adrian Boya said he smelled gas for weeks in the area.

"I called 911, they came and told us it smelled like incense," Boya told NBC Washington. "It's like they didn't take us seriously."

Then-Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett said that a natural gas odor was reported on July 25. Firefighters responded to that complaint, could not verify the smell and left the scene.

Less than a month later, Flower Branch Apartments was consumed by flames.

Residents broke bones as they jumped from windows as firefighters raced to the scene about midnight. Other residents suffered burn injuries, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein said. Dozens were taken to area hospitals for treatment, including three firefighters who suffered from heat exhaustion.

The victims killed in the blast were:

• Deibi "David" Samir Lainez Morales, 8
• Fernando Josue Hernandez Orellana, 3
• Augusto Jimenez Sr., 62
• Maria Auxiliadorai Castellon-Martinez, 53
• Saul Paniagua, 65
• Aseged Mekonen, 34,
• Saeda Ibrahim, 40

SEE ALSO:

• Maryland Apartment Explosion: 7th Body Found; Cause Could Be Known By End of Week
• Vigil To Mark 1-Year Anniversary Of Flower Branch Apartments Explosion
• Judge Slams NTSB For Slow Probe Into Deadly Apartment Explosions
• NTSB Sets Hearing On Cause Of 2016 Deadly Apartment Explosions