Years Later, Potomac Oaks Still Proves Why Gas Alarms Matter

When a natural gas explosion ripped through the Potomac Oaks Condominiums in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on November 16, 2022, the devastation was immediate. One resident was killed, 13 others were injured, and 25 families were displaced in an instant. Nearly three years later, the families who returned are still piecing their lives back together.

Sarah and Marc Saint-Jour lost the home where their infant daughter Avah had just learned to sit up. Today they are raising two children in a rebuilt condo that looks familiar but feels different. “Financially we took a monstrous hit,” Sarah says. “We haven’t had that moment yet when we could just breathe.” Their neighbor Michelle Conklin-Kusel spent years moving from place to place, even living on a refurbished sailboat, to get by. “We exhausted everything we could think of [financially],” she recalls.

The emotional toll has been just as lasting. Survivors describe panic attacks, post-traumatic stress, and the constant instinct to look for escape routes. Loud noises make Sarah freeze. Even little Avah, now three, startles easily. Residents also mourn what can’t be replaced, like childhood keepsakes, wedding dresses, and other meaningful pieces of their lives that were reduced to ashes in an instant.

For those who returned, resilience has meant starting over while carrying invisible burdens. For those who never came back, the loss is permanent. But every family from Potomac Oaks is united in the knowledge that this tragedy could have been prevented. Natural gas alarms detect leaks before they turn deadly. They might have prevented the devastation that cost these families their safety, stability, and peace of mind. It is long past time to mandate gas alarms and extend protection to all homes and buildings, before the next silent leak turns into another lasting tragedy.

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