Saturday, April 27, 2024

5 people, including a child, are dead after an explosion destroys 3 homes and damages 12 others

plum pennsylvania house explosion

Five people died and three others were injured after a house explosion on a suburban street in Pennsylvania on Saturday spread flames to several nearby homes, shattering windows and causing walls to crumble, the authorities said. Our thoughts are with the Plum residents impacted by an explosion and fires in their neighborhood this morning. Our emergency services team are on scene along with our fire marshals. We stand ready to provide any resources necessary for this community. PLUM, Pa. (AP) — Investigators said Friday the location of an explosion that killed six people and destroyed three houses near Pittsburgh last month was inside one of the homes, ruling out an outside cause.

Allegheny County Jail Guard From Plum Facing Charges

Plum house explosion: Pennsylvania DEP investigating pinhole-sized leak behind homes - CBS Pittsburgh

Plum house explosion: Pennsylvania DEP investigating pinhole-sized leak behind homes.

Posted: Tue, 22 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

He never lived a day without joy and his family was always his priority. One died in at the hospital after being transported in critical condition. Two people who were taken to the hospital in stable condition have since been released. State officials had previously ruled out natural gas from an abandoned underground mine as a cause.

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Of the three people taken to hospitals, two were released while one remained in critical condition, said Steve Imbarlina, deputy director of fire and emergency services for Allegheny County. Fifty-seven firefighters were treated at the scene for minor issues. PLUM, Pa. (AP) — Five people were found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said Sunday. It is with great sorrow that I write about the devastating incident that occurred in our Rustic Ridge neighborhood.

Plum house explosion: Pennsylvania DEP investigating pinhole-sized leak behind homes

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Rustic Ridge neighborhood sits on top of abandoned mine land and is surrounded by shallow oil and gas wells. There is also a pipeline that runs behind the housing development, but none of these have been identified as the cause of the blast. The Allegheny County District Attorney told Channel 11 News on Thursday that officials currently consider the deadly explosion in Plum Borough to be accidental. My son was just there a couple of days before playing with Keegan so it’s heartbreaking,” said Brock Harrison, Carl’s Tavern manager.

Casey and Keegan Clontz

Hubner said the side of the house facing the explosion, which took most of the concussion, will need to be stripped to look for framing damage. The houses on either side — the Thomas house closer to Zarroli and the home of Harrison and Kelly Smith on the other side — also were destroyed. Some of those friends were lost when the home of Paul and Heather Oravitz, diagonally across the street at 141 Rustic Ridge, blew up on the morning of Aug. 12.

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Abandoned mine features are not part of the DEP’s investigation at this time. “From the moment DEP was called in to investigate, our experts have worked tirelessly alongside county officials and partner agencies to aid in identifying the cause,” said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin. Negrin says members of his department will be in Plum for the duration of the investigation and it may start to get a clearer picture of what happened soon.

Kevin Sebunia

plum pennsylvania house explosion

Hubner said the Zarroli house isn’t as badly damaged as others in the vicinity because of where and how it sits. Hubner said suction from the explosion first pulled the siding off the house, then the concussion blew out almost every window, the entry doors and the garage doors. Zarroli’s house is among 10 others that were so badly damaged they were declared uninhabitable.

The police responded to a report of a house explosion around 10 a.m. In Plum, a borough in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania just east of Pittsburgh. The fire marshal is still investigating last year’s house explosion in Plum along Hialeah Drive.

Kevin Sebunia, 55

Authorities have also said the home’s owners had been having problems with their hot water tank. The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office said all potential outside factors were eliminated, including wells, pipelines and other utilities, pinpointing the source as a home on Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum Borough. Police said at least three people were taken to area hospitals with two in stable condition, both of whom have since been released.

The sixth victim, identified as 56-year-old Paul Oravitz, died on Wednesday at UPMC Mercy. Emergency medical workers treated 57 firefighters for minor issues while they responded to the explosion and fire, Chief Imbarlina said. “This is certainly a sad, sad day and a sad time, for not just the folks in Plum but all the folks in the community and in this region,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. 11 News reached out to Peoples Gas Company to address the community’s concerns. They said they are providing their resources to help the Allegheny County fire marshal in this investigation, including additional tests of their system.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating multiple possibilities, including the homeowners having “hot water tank issues,” Plum Borough and Allegheny County officials said in a news release. The Allegheny County medical examiner's office will identify them, the Facebook post said. Three people were transported to area hospitals, including one who was listed in critical condition and two who were treated and released.

“This is certainly a sad, sad day and a sad time, for not just the folks in Plum but all the folks in the community and in this region,” Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said, AP reported. Peoples Natural Gas said Saturday night on its website that it shut off gas service to about 50 homes in the area as a precaution. He said that gas and electrical services were shut off to most of the area Saturday "out of an abundance of caution" and that officials planned to work to restore some of the services.

First responders said there were people trapped under debris, two houses on fire, multiple houses damaged and it appeared “as if one house had exploded,” authorities said. The cause of the blast — which destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others — remains under investigation, but officials have said Oravitz and his wife, Heather, were having issues with their hot water tank. The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office is leading the investigation, along with local law enforcement. Emergency responders reported people trapped under debris after the blast leveled one house and left two others engulfed in flames, county spokesperson Amie Downs said. Crews from at least 18 fire departments worked to douse the flames with the help of water tankers from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Plum police, county law enforcement and the county fire marshal’s office are investigating the cause of the explosion, AP reported.

Five people, including a child, are dead, after a house exploded in Pennsylvania Saturday morning destroying three structures and damaging several other houses, authorities said. The DEP has been working with local authorities and first responders since the explosion that killed six people on Aug. 12. The state agency has had a handful of experts on the ground collecting samples to determine any possible sources of methane in the area. PLUM, Pa. — Six people were killed in the house explosion in Plum on Saturday.

Both were rushed to the hospital, but they’re now physically okay. PLUM BOROUGH, Pa. — Six people are dead after an explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum Borough that destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen more. A company spokesperson said Wednesday that it had completed additional system testing with the Fire Marshal’s office and the state Public Utility Commission, meaning it can now begin restoring gas service.

A spokesperson for Peoples Gas said on Wednesday crews will start restoring service, which was shut off to about 50 homes after the explosion. Heavy equipment went through the destroyed houses before the rain moved in. Crews with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Allegheny County offices, and utility crews investigated. Three nearby homes were destroyed and a dozen other homes were damaged in the blast on Saturday. PLUM, Pa. (KDKA) — A sixth person died after a house exploded in Plum borough's Rustic Ridge community exploded.

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