BETHLEHEM, Pa. — On a quiet cul-de-sac on a gray September morning, Carly Grozier’s family paged through a different kind of transcript.
They weren’t official documents providing a permanent record of her coursework, grades and enrollment history at West Virginia University.
This stack of paperwork was altogether different.
Inside were legal files that laid out, in painstaking detail, a day the family will never forget: Sept. 6, 2023.
That was the day Carly, a Freedom High School graduate, was severely injured in a gas explosion and air-lifted to a hospital with third-degree burns over 50% of her body.
The blast, which occurred in off-campus housing near the university, also injured three of Carly’s roommates. But only she was exposed to the full force of a high-pressure shockwave.
And only she would battle for months at the West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh, a facility renowned for its innovative treatment.
The outcome never seemed in doubt, her family said, because of Carly’s fighting spirit and the exemplary care she received.
“Even in her darkest moments, her personality" was evident, her father, Vance Grozier, said.
“They called her sassy. That was starting to shine through, even there.”
But complications often arise in burn victims well after the injury, not from the burns themselves.
And just when they thought Carly had turned a corner, those complications began to push back on her progress.
Then, the unthinkable.
Carly Joan Grozier passed away on Jan. 17 at age 20, and the reality the family hadn’t prepared for was now the reality it faced: life without a daughter, sister, niece, cousin and friend who “always had a smile on her face.”
“One of the hardest things for me is that she was just starting to figure out what she wanted to do, and she was really, really happy where she was,” Carly’s mom, Dr. Catherine Given, said.
Last month, Carly’s parents filed a civil lawsuit, naming those they deem responsible for her death.
And, on Sept. 16, prosecutors in Monongalia County, West Virginia, filed criminal charges connected to the explosion — a step the family hopes will ensure something like this never happens again.
‘This issue is much larger than Carly’
Carly Grozier graduated from Freedom in 2021. There, she played lacrosse and was the starting goalie her senior year, helping the Patriots reach their first-ever district championship game.
She was a contributor to the Freedom Forum, the school’s student-run newspaper, and the sports media program.
She later attended Northampton Community College and transferred to West Virginia University, where she studied communication and social media and also played lacrosse.
Instagram photos of her high school graduation are captioned, “From a Patriot to a Mountaineer,” and many images on the feed reveal a confident young woman beginning to find her way in the world.
It’s funny, because Carly wasn’t much of a talker when she was younger, her mother said.
But Carly grew up, and “grew into her voice,” she said.
“She was always dancing, always laughing,” Catherine Given said. “Even though she was the youngest, I certainly would look to her for advice when I was struggling with a relationship, or, you know, how to handle something. She was just kind of everybody's go-to person.
“She was always, always wanting to make people laugh and then, you know, as a younger teen, she kind of found her voice and her wit.
"And there was always a Carly comment, and it always was unexpected but really observant of everybody.”
"She was always, always wanting to make people laugh."Catherine Given, Carly Grozier's mother
Carly’s brother, Ken, recalled how she often “wore her emotions on her sleeve.”
Her sister, Connor, said she thought Carly would become a lawyer.
In recent interviews, none was ready to speak of Carly in the past tense.
It’s still hard for them to imagine their daughter and sister being gone, and of the questions the family still has or the answers they don’t.
But as the legal process plays out on multiple fronts, they say they hope action will begin to affect change for students dealing with unsuitable living conditions, unhelpful landlords and more.
“For us, this issue is much larger than Carly,” her mom said. “So I think it's really important to gather stories of other students who have gone through it, even if maybe it didn't end as tragically as our story ended.”
The work being done now is work Carly’s family hopes will define her legacy — to promote safe off-campus housing for college students and advocate for others dealing with substandard housing conditions.
No matter what, they are determined that other families avoid the kind of pain they continue to endure.
‘They thought it was OK’
That heartache is outlined in an 18-page filing in the Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of West Virginia.
It alleges the property owners, Linda and Steven Barnes, hired John William Bland, an out-of-state contractor, for repair work on the home at 727 Wells St., in Morgantown, Monongalia County.
The suit alleges Bland was a family friend of the Barnes’ and was hired to replace components in a downstairs bathroom.
“That contractor directly interfered with the gas lines, and that's what caused this explosion,” said Michael A. Budner, the attorney representing Carly’s parents as co-administrators of her estate.
“There was no issue in this case that we found from our experts that the gas was leaking outside of the meter,” Budner said.
“Once it gets into the home, the gas company only has obligations if they have a reason to know that there's something going on. So for instance, if there's an existing leak, they should have a reason to know if there's illegal work being done, and there's a host of other things.
"And here what we had, unfortunately, is we had a landlord who was cutting corners.”
An investigator for the Monongalia County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office “determined that Mr. John W. Bland was completing work defined as ‘plumbing’ at the address … and did not hold a plumbing certification in the state of West Virginia as required by law,” an arrest warrant states.
In the course of that work, prosecutors say, he opened a valve that led to an uncapped gas line.
“This gas valve was located inside the wall behind an access panel beside the water meter for the home,” the warrant states.
That resulted in the ensuing gas leak from the uncapped line.
“In this case, we have a gentleman who doesn't know what he's doing," Budner said. "He literally opened a gas line because he wasn't sure what it was."
Carly and her roommates later smelled ethyl mercaptan, an odorant to warn people of the presence of natural gas, but repeatedly were told the smell in the home was from the sewer, Carly's dad said.
They opened windows and waited for Bland to return, but according to Vance Grozier, it only delayed the inevitable.
He said a report from Hope Gas (formerly Dominion Energy) ultimately showed “more than three times the normal amount of an average use of gas was pumped into that house.”
To try and mask the smell, her family said Carly lit a candle.
The explosion it caused was so powerful that news reports detailed significant structural damage, and photos showed the outer walls of the residence pushed outward, no longer flush with the foundation.
Debris was scattered around the area, and one of the support columns on the front porch was blown across the street.
“[Carly and her roommates] had a gentleman there who they believed knew what he was doing, who was hired to replace things,” Budner said.
“And they did what I think most of us would have done. They thought it was OK, and they lit candles to get the smell out.
"And unfortunately, in addition to this, Mr. Bland, not knowing what he was doing, created a worse situation by telling the girls, ‘Oh, it's OK, I'll be back tomorrow. It's just the sewer line.’”
On Sept. 4, 2024, Bland was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Carly Grozier. On Sept. 16, he surrendered to Morgantown police and made an initial court appearance, where the judge granted bail.
The $30,000 bond was paid by Linda Barnes.
‘What are the universities doing?’
“Whether it's student housing, whether it's low-income housing, we're seeing that a lot,” Budner said, referring to landlords hiring unlicensed contractors or cutting corners when it comes to building maintenance.
“It's the people who are not putting the time, the effort, the money and the know-how into fixing things.
"I don't want to belittle people, but it is not rocket science. If you get a licensed plumber or someone who's licensed who works on natural gas lines and propane lines, they know exactly what they're doing,” he said.
"It's the people who are not putting the time, the effort, the money and the know-how into fixing things."Attorney Michael A. Budner
There are issues that relate to habitability — whether a structure is unsafe or dangerous, whether there are unsanitary conditions or other problems that present a danger to the health of the occupants.
And sometimes, there are few resources or places where students feel they can turn for assistance.
West Virginia University said students who experience unsafe housing conditions are directed to its Student Legal Services office.
“A significant portion of that work has been, and continues to be, dealing with landlord-tenant issues,” said Patrick Brooks, managing attorney for WVU Student Legal Services.
Brooks said the office provides one-on-one legal advice and representation to students when possible, including students who live off-campus.
But in some cases, students dealing with unsafe, unresolved issues may have to go a step further.
“We regularly advise them to contact the city code enforcement office or, if appropriate, the city fire marshal,” Brooks said.
“The fire marshal is often the appropriate person to call for life- threatening emergencies, such as a gas leak where code enforcement has more to do with the habitability of the rental unit.”
The university’s stance is that students should feel supported, confident and well-prepared to live in the community, but Brooks acknowledged the pressure faced in navigating early signing deadlines, along with the heavy competition for housing.
“There has been a shift in the last couple decades and leases are being signed earlier and earlier each year,” he said.
“The pressure on students to sign leases comes from landlords and their fellow students. Student Legal Services’ stance on this issue is that students should be waiting to sign leases. Especially for freshmen, we recommend waiting until the spring semester to sign a lease.”
Establishing ‘Carly’s Cause’
Brooks said SLS holds housing fairs, distributes literature, makes presentations and has information on its website for students — but statistics show just a small fraction of the student population has used its services year-over-year.
SLS said it logged 492 intakes and closed 396 cases from July 1, 2023, to July 1, 2024, helping save or earn students more than $184,500.
WVU’s fall 2023 enrollment was 26,791, including more than 22,000 on the Morgantown campus.
“Intakes thus far for the current fall semester show usage of SLS is up by more than 35 percent compared with the same time last year,” a spokesperson said.
The office also has collaborated with Penn State and other institutions in the past, but student awareness of the availability of legal aid is critical to the provision of such services.
It’s why Carly’s family is working to establish “Carly’s Cause,” a nonprofit with three key objectives:
- Working with universities on identifying safe and approved off-campus housing for students
- Working to affect change through the state Legislature
- Encouraging and financially supporting burn survivors and their families
“I think a lot of the motivation is our love of Carly, as much as it is to prevent other people from having to go through this,” her father said.
“I think it's also important to note that the girls that had that house prior to Carly and her roommates, that problem [with the bathroom] was there.
The landlord "knew about it in the spring semester, prior to the girls moving in, and did nothing about it.
“We were told the shortest it would be done was when the lease was signed. Then the shortest it would be done was by this day. Shortest it would be done was by Labor Day, and it wasn't. And we got on the phone, and I had words with her, and one of the other fathers did" as well.
Because there’s no way to change the outcome, and to bring Carly back, the mission going forward is to shine a light on the way the university system is set up, the family said.
More needs to be done to address skyrocketing rental rates, substandard housing conditions and potential illegal activities, they said.
“From the time you get in as a freshman, you’re on campus for one to two months, and you've already got people saying, ‘Where are you going to live next year?’” Ken Grozier said.
“You haven't even adjusted to living on your own for the first time. You're living in the dorm rooms, and already all of a sudden you’re like, ‘I have to find somewhere to live.’ That's the way it goes throughout the entire four years.
“So the culture of off-campus student housing, I think, is the number one thing that we want to target. What are the universities doing, and can they be doing more?”
"The culture of off-campus student housing, I think, is the number one thing that we want to target. What are the universities doing, and can they be doing more?"Ken Grozier, Carly's brother
The goal is to have Carly’s Cause up and running by the end of 2024, Ken Grozier said.
“So kind of going into 2025, we have that full window of getting the word out, building up donations, and then taking that money and using it to actually make a difference.”
Carly's Cause is in the closing stages of website development and looks to accept online donations following its launch in the coming weeks.
What to know about gas on your property
Michael A. Budner, of Saltz, Mongeluzzi & Bendesky trial lawyers, on natural gas safety:
“Once it gets into the home, the gas company only has obligations (beyond the meter) if they have a reason to know that there's something going on. So, for instance, if there's an existing leak, they should have a reason to know if there's illegal work being done, and there's a host of other things.”
“Not to say that there aren't cases where the gas companies are to blame, or where there's other issues going on, but more often than not, we're seeing things being manipulated within the home, within appliances, within connections, and that's leading to explosions, and there's, unfortunately, very little policing that's done for those things.”
“Gas comes into your house and it often splits into one, two or three lines. It's not like electricity, where there's hundreds of outlets in your house. They're typically two to three natural gas outlets. You have a stove, you often have a hot water heater, and sometimes you have a fireplace. And those are the big three.”
“If you're having work done, whether it's a new appliance installed, whether it's renovation work, whether it's repair work, you know, hire someone who knows what they're doing. The second thing is, if you think there’s a leak and you call 911, or you call PA One, which is a hotline with the state, they'll come out. If there's a smell of what you believe to be natural gas or some kind of odor, they’ll come out.
“[The additive in gas] is typically overwhelmingly ethane, but it's ethane, propane, butane and methane. All of those gasses by themselves are completely odorless and you add ethyl mercaptan [to give a warning odor]. Each natural gas provider or propane provider has its own blend to make it smell the way that it does, for this exact reason.”
“Natural gas, once it's in a [home], has nowhere to go. And it's highly combustible. It's highly flammable, and in all of our homes, we have ample ignition sources that exist. Even the flick of a light switch, it has a spark within the protector. And if there's enough natural gas, that alone can cause an explosion. So if you suspect there’s a leak, don’t touch anything and evacuate. Call for help.”
