The state House has passed two bills aimed at addressing natural gas safety concerns in the wake of the March 2023 fatal explosion at a West Reading chocolate factory. The March 24 blast, which took the lives of seven workers when it leveled an R.M. Palmer Co. plant on South Second Avenue, was the result of a natural gas leak, according to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The final report found that a cracked, out-of-use fitting allowed natural gas to leak into the basement of what was known as Building 2. House Bill 1522 would require buildings that use natural gas to install alarms to detect leaks.