Final report released on deadly Gaithersburg condo explosion

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (DC News Now) — Tensions still run high at the Potomac Oaks Condominiums following the explosion that tore through four buildings a year ago.

“It shouldn’t have taken an entire year to get to this point,” said Traci Dimartini, whose building was destroyed in the Nov. 16, 2022 blast.

The final report, just released, confirms what had been reported since the blast — Juan Quizon, 36, deliberately set off the explosion in his home, across the hall from Dimartini.

“Our lives were completely upended by this catastrophe, the human-caused catastrophe,” said Michelle Conklin-Kusel, forced to move out of her building after it was declared unsafe.

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The blast injured 14 others and forced dozens of people to find other places to live, which has been a challenge.

“I still have businesses in Galesburg, so I have to come here every day and take care of my business. And that’s not convenient for me,” said Lisa Hamilton, who is living with family in Poolesville.

She’s lived underneath Quizon’s condominium.

“It’s been a whole year and this place hasn’t been touched. It’s ridiculous,” Hamilton said.

The construction company that will rebuild the four buildings said it should have the permits for the project sometime next week.

But, there’s mixed reactions as to whether tenants will return once the project is complete.

“No, I am so traumatized. I want to leave Montgomery County,” Dimartini said.

Not everyone feels that way.

“I just want to get back home,” Hamilton said of the place she called home for 27 years.

Tenants said they’ve been told that it will be sometime in 2025 before the project is completed.

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