PROVIDENCE — The manufacturing plant in East Providence where an oven exploded in April, injuring 11 employees, could reopen as soon as this week, as long as it gets a final all-clear from city building inspectors.
The oven at Aspen Aerogels on Dexter Road blew up on the night of April 8 while workers were in the plant, causing steel walls to bend and sending metal flying across the facility.
The company, which makes thermal insulation products, has been in the process of rectifying eight building code violations sent to the company last month, only some of which are related to the explosion. On multiple occasions in recent years, according to an April 13 violation notice, the plant failed to call the city for final inspections after conducting mechanical or electrical work, including on the oven that exploded.
The plant was eyeing Tuesday for its reopening, Providence Business News reported last week, but inspections were still underway as of Monday afternoon, city building official Robert Walker said. A company spokesperson said operations were expected to resume “in the days ahead.”
The company was given 30 days to address the code violations, and has not been assessed any fines.
“They’ve been cooperating to get all these permits closed out and make the building safe,” Walker said. “They want to get back on track.”
The explosion happened in a drying oven that was in use in the facility — referred to as oven #5 — which East Providence officials said never received a final inspection after it was installed last year.
The oven should not have been operating without the permits being finalized, city officials said. The State Fire Marshal found the oven blew up due to an “accumulation of ethanol vapors,” and ruled the explosion an accident.
According to a copy of the violation notice, Aspen Aerogels had also failed to call the city for final inspections on three other permits that were not related to the oven that exploded. The permits were for ductwork, electrical work, and work on oven #4.
Contractors had pulled a building permit in November 2024 to install oven #5, which involved putting in a new oven line, electrical work, and some masonry work, according to the permit. Then, on April 2, 2025, the company pulled a mechanical permit to install ductwork to connect the oven to existing systems in the building.
No inspections were ever conducted on the mechanical permit, according to the violation, and a final inspection was not conducted on the building permit. Walker said it’s the company’s responsibility to call the city for an inspection after completing the work.
After the explosion, an inspection also found the building was “partially destroyed or substantially damaged,” and the structure was a potential fire hazard. Repairs have been underway, Walker said.
He said the area where oven #5 was located won’t be reopening this week.
“I wanted them to cordon off that entire section of the building so that when they finally do come back online, there’s no chance that anybody would wander off into that area while they are doing the repairs,” he said.
Walker said one of his mechanical inspectors was on site at Aspen Aerogels on Monday, and he would personally inspect the facility before it reopens.
Mike Raia, a spokesperson for the company, said Aspen Aerogels “continues to work closely with local officials to prepare for a reopening of its plant in East Providence, and we expect to have operations running in the days ahead.”
“Aspen is working to resolve all outstanding permitting matters to the city’s satisfaction,” Raia said. He declined to comment on whether any employees were disciplined for failing to get required inspections.
The company reported a loss of $23 million in the first quarter. Its earnings report said a “staged restart” for the East Providence facility was planned for May.
None of the 11 employees who were taken to the hospital after the explosion suffered serious injuries.
“One is left in wonder that nobody died,” East Providence Mayor Bob DaSilva said the day after the explosion.
Fire Chief Michael Carey said Aspen Aerogels has worked with the city’s fire department to evaluate its emergency response systems.
“Aspen Aerogels has confirmed with our personnel that all critical building systems, safety systems, operational processes affected by the incident have been fully evaluated, repaired, tested, and verified as 100 percent operational prior to resuming operations,” Carey said in a statement.
“It is my firm belief that Aspen Aerogels is devoted to preserving a safe operational atmosphere and will continue its close cooperation with our department and city authorities to ensure sustained compliance, safety, and operational integrity,” he said.
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.