A Port Richmond explosion survivor says she wants to rebuild her home, but she’s having a hard time learning how

Tara Dendall is still haunted by the way she started the new year in her Port Richmond rowhouse. She remembers waking up to bits of window glass showering her arms as a blast knocked her back in bed and toppled her bureau. The screams for help as the street lights went dark rang clear, even as the cuts on her head where glass shards had to be pulled out heal.

The 48-year-old thought surviving the New Year’s Day explosion that destroyed three homes, damaged more than 40 others, and injured five people would be the worst part. But more than a week after the explosion Dendall said she was still at her wit’s end. She didn’t know what city approvals she needed to begin fixing her home, which sustained extensive damage and was left without electricity and gas, making it uninhabitable.

Dendall, who has lived in the home for seven years, said she’s grateful that the property can be fixed up and that she, her brother, and daughter were able to make it out without serious injury, unlike two neighbors who had to be pulled out of the rubble.

“I know that it’s going to be built back again,” she said. “I’m so blessed and I’m so lucky because people out back almost died and their houses are totally gone, but I just have to start the rebuilding process.”

Still, Dendall is learning that the road forward could be a long one. Although her home on the corner of Gaul and Atlantic Streets wasn’t completely leveled, its damage is beyond cosmetic. What’s more, Dendall said, dealing with multiple city agencies has made it harder to get clear instructions on how she’s supposed to proceed.

Dendall has found the process of being deferred from one agency to another to be frustrating. In a public community meeting in the days after the explosion, she showed representatives from various agencies a notepad with all the numbers she’d called, including Peco for electricity, Philadelphia Gas Works, her insurer, and a separate adjuster. She explained she needed to know when she could bring workers into the home, which needs new roofing, windows, doors, and inspections.

Dendall hoped for a timeline or to-do list that would help her determine whether she’d need to rent an apartment for an extended period, but she said little came of the interaction.

Safety protocols appear to have played a role in Dendall’s initial delay getting information. Spokespeople for PGW and Peco told The Inquirer that Dendall needs to address repairs before her utilities can be restored. Peco added that Licenses and Inspections would inform Dendall of restoration procedures and give the utility the green light to restore service.

According to a city spokesperson, the department of Licenses and Inspections needed to prepare a report before any instructions on restoring utilities could be issued to homeowners. To get her power restored, the spokesperson said, Dendall needs an electrical permit from L&I and to pass a third-party inspection.

Dendall said no one told her about the report, so she spent $150 on a third-party electrical inspection, based on conflicting information she received. The property failed the inspection. Dendall is left wondering why the agencies couldn’t sort out the order of operations sooner.

Miriam Eiseman, who owned and rented out 3550 Miller St., said she had similar struggles getting information after the home was destroyed in the blast. She couldn’t get answers to questions she had about property taxes for what’s now a lot, or future water bills. She sat through the 2½-hour community meeting in hopes of getting help and finding out what caused the blast. At the meeting, officials told residents that the investigation could take up to a year and that PGW had not found a leak in the mains and service lines it is legally responsible for, but that didn’t eliminate the possibility of a gas problem inside one of the homes.

At that community meeting, Eiseman also connected with City Councilmember Mark Squilla, and his staff helped her get answers to her questions.

“You have to start at the top,” she said. “Half the battle, I find, is just finding somebody who is willing to champion you.”

Dendall said hiring her own adjuster has helped her feel she has an advocate in an already tragic year — her sister died the day after the explosion. For now, Dendall said, getting her house to be move-in ready is her biggest motivation, but she’s got a long way to go.

“I still have my home but it’s not my home,” said Dendall, holding back tears. “I have four walls and part of a roof and I have a foundation.”