GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Monday afternoon, residents of the Potomac Oaks Condominiums, who've been displaced since November got a major update.
It has been nearly four months since the explosion at Potomac Oaks Condominium in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
They did not respond to WUSA9's request for an interview about the update, but shared this update with WUSA9 in March.
The residents of buildings 826 and 828 haven't been allowed to go inside their homes since the explosion. But in February, one resident named Jason told WUSA9 he'd had enough and went back inside hoping to find important documents and family heirlooms.
Instead, he told WUSA9 he found what was left of his belongings thrown all over, some of his family's jewelry and other belongings missing and syringes scattered all over. He shared footage exclusively with WUSA9.
Monday afternoon, some answers arrived in the inboxes of some of the condo owners. They received this email:
The city of Gaithersburg has issued the demolition permit for building 828. As of this writing, the pre-demolition work including the installation of the silt fence and the electrical transformer at the rear of 828 has been completed. Pending is the installation of the driveway behind buildings 830 and 828.
They also received a copy of the fire incident report from Montgomery County Maryland Fire and Rescue Service. See below:
The e-mail also included info about a meeting later this week with the construction company who will be handling the demolition and rebuild, as well as insurance agents.
At the meeting, Toepfer Construction will provide details on how buildings 826 and 828 are demolished and walk you through the process and timeline of constructing new buildings and repairing the units in buildings 824 and 830. Our insurance agent representative will answer any questions you may have regarding what is covered under the Association’s master insurance policy.
"My first reaction was, it's about time," said Marc St-Jour who lived in building 828.
He told WUSA9 this certainly doesn't answer all of their questions, but hopes this is a sign that more answers are on the way.
"It's just been a rough ride, it's been a rough ride, I don't think everybody is satisfied with the way things went. But I'm happy things are moving forward," St-Jour said.