EAST PROVIDENCE – A drying oven involved in Wednesday’s explosion at Aspen Aerogels Inc. that injured 11 workers had open permits that were never finalized and lacked a final inspection, city officials said Friday, adding a new layer to the ongoing investigation.
An accidental buildup of ethanol vapors inside the oven caused the explosion, the R.I. State Fire Marshal’s Office said Friday.
East Providence Communications Manager Matthew Paddock said Friday that the city's building official is aware that the piece of the equipment where the explosion occurred – Oven 5 – had open permits that had not been finalized, nor had final inspection.
Paddock said it will conduct a further investigation into the matter with the assistance of the city solicitor.
“It is concerning that the equipment involved in the industrial explosion had not received a final inspection by the city’s building official,” Mayor Bob DaSilva said.
The incident forced a shutdown of operations at the company’s Dexter Road facility, which remains closed pending safety inspections and engineering reviews.
City officials said the explosion caused significant damage to manufacturing equipment and portions of the building.
“It’s a miracle nobody was killed or seriously injured,” DaSilva said at a press conference on Thursday.
All victims that were transported to area hospitals have been treated and released, according to the Fire Marshal's Office.
Aspen Aerogels, which produces insulation materials used in electric vehicles and energy projects, said Thursday is cooperating with authorities and assessing the impact of the incident.
Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
(UPDATE: Story recast with new detail, comment from city.)
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.