Pennsylvania authorities investigate causes of Plum home explosion

Table Of Content

• reported dead, including teen, after house explosion in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania house explosion victims named; county says house had ‘hot water tank issues’
• Body of 5th missing worker found more than a month after Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
• Plum house explosion: Pennsylvania DEP investigating pinhole-sized leak behind homes
• Pennsylvania house explosion: 5 dead, including child: Aerial video shows homes destroyed
• Investigators say cause of fatal Plum explosion came from inside the home

State investigators are now searching for stray gas near the site of a home explosion in Plum, Allegheny County on Saturday, Aug. 12 that killed six people. 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. A spokesperson for Peoples Gas said on Wednesday crews will start restoring service, which was shut off to about 50 homes after the explosion.

reported dead, including teen, after house explosion in Pennsylvania

Abigail Gardner, the director of communications for Allegheny County, identified the victims as David Mitchell Jr. and Helen Mitchell. Fisher said there have unfortunately been cases similar to what happened in Plum before where something exploded. Oravitz’s husband, Paul, suffered severe burns over most of his body and remained hospitalized Tuesday in critical condition.

Pennsylvania house explosion victims named; county says house had ‘hot water tank issues’

The fire marshal’s office said in a statement Monday that it was aware of the reported hot water tank issues the homeowners were having. The agency planned to investigate the cause of the blast, with the hot water tank issue in mind, “along with any and all other possibilities,” the statement said. Of the three people taken to hospitals, two were released while one remained in critical condition, said the deputy director of fire and emergency services for Allegheny county, Steve Imbarlina.

Body of 5th missing worker found more than a month after Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say

Six people were killed, including a child, in a Pennsylvania house explosion over the weekend that caused multiple injuries, leveled two other homes and damaged at least a dozen residences, according to authorities. A man has been arrested and accused of intentionally causing a natural gas explosion that destroyed his house and damaged other homes near Fort Worth in 2022, Westworth Village police said Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the development is on abandoned mine land surrounded by shallow still-producing or abandoned oil and gas wells. Two producing gas wells are within about 1000 feet (305 meters) of the home that exploded and a pipeline runs behind the development, but none of those structures have been identified as having been involved in the blast, the newspaper reported.

The blast sent shockwaves through the area, with nearby windows and doors blown off when the home along Rustic Ridge Drive exploded. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Officer identified the first five victims as 38-year-old Casey Clontz, 12-year-old Keegan Clontz, 51-year-old Heather Oravitz, 55-year-old Kevin Sebunia and 57-year-old Michael Thomas. The sixth victim, identified as 56-year-old Paul Oravitz, died on Wednesday at UPMC Mercy. Gas and electric service was shut off as a precaution, and officials said on Sunday a plan was in place to begin restoring service with electric power expected to be returned to all but a few residences. The police chief of the community of Plum, Lanny Conley, said the bodies of four adults and one adolescent were recovered after the blast shortly before 10.30am on Saturday. Gas and electric service was shut off as a precaution, and officials said Sunday a plan was in place to begin restoring service with electric power expected to be returned to all but a few residences, officials said.

Tomer said at least two other homes suffered damage but did not say how close they were to the explosion site. 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. Negrin said the governor has ordered the results of all of the samples taken to be expedited, which means those results could be coming in as early as the end of this week. PLUM, Pa. (KDKA) — The secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said the agency is determined to find out the cause of the deadly house explosion in Plum.

Investigators say cause of explosion in Pennsylvania that killed 6 came from inside 1 of the houses - KIRO Seattle

Investigators say cause of explosion in Pennsylvania that killed 6 came from inside 1 of the houses.

Posted: Fri, 08 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

PLUM, Pa. (KDKA) — A sixth person died after a house exploded in Plum borough's Rustic Ridge community exploded. The Allegheny county medical examiner’s office is expected to provide additional information about the deceased victims. George Emanuele, who lives three houses from where the explosion happened, said that he could feel the blast in his chest, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office will provide additional information about the deceased victims, authorities said. The DEP evaluated the coal seam near Plum, Pa. and noted no nearby shafts or drill/boreholes in the area of the explosion, concluding the chance of the gas issue coming from an abandoned mine is very low. Abandoned mine features are not part of the DEP’s investigation at this time.

Two other adults were in critical condition after the blast that occurred minutes after 8 p.m. "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. In addition to those resources, the Plum Senior High School is open Monday and Tuesday, offering support services for students, staff, and community members.

Mitchell Glenn Evans, 33, was taken into custody on Saturday in Brown County by Brownwood police on a charge of arson of a habitation, a first-degree felony. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Pennsylvania State Police and Red Cross were on the scene, in addition to local authorities, Keller said. The first unit arrived a few minutes after the call to find the home "completely leveled by some type of explosion," Crescent Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Andrew Tomer said at a news briefing. “We are a pretty close-knit community in the neighborhood where we’re at, so this is pretty devastating, to be honest with you,” Kolankowski said. If inspectors find sufficient levels of combustible gas, such as methane, soil samples will be taken for later analysis in a laboratory. Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as it conducts its investigation.

People should call 911 and the gas company from outside the house, not reenter it and wait for first responders to arrive. Per state law, the Fire Marshal’s Office will determine the explosion’s origin and cause at the end of its investigation. As of Friday, the Fire Marshal’s Office had completed scene safety and security, additional agency notifications, witness statements and interviews, and processing of the incident site.

According to a search warrant obtained by the Star-Telegram, investigators learned that Evans’ wife left him and took their children with her two days before the explosion. Other victims included 57-year-old Plum Borough Manager Michael Thomas and neighbors 55-year-old Kevin Sebunia, 38-year-old Casey Clontz and his 12-year-old son Keegan. “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, per the AP. “There are three structures destroyed and at least a dozen more damaged in some way,” authorities said. “I am in constant communication with Governor Shapiro, who has expressed his unwavering support for the Plum community and for the use of all available investigative measures.

Following the explosion, utilities were shut off due to safety concerns, but electricity has been restored to all but the immediate area surrounding the blast. Rafal Kolankowski, who also lives near the explosion scene, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the blast broke his home’s windows and knocked him and his wife to the floor. Officials said on Sunday that they did not know how many homes might have been affected. Officials had shut off electricity and gas in the affected neighborhood “out of an abundance of caution” and were working to restore it, Chief Imbarlina said. Officials are conducting follow-up interviews with some responders and witnesses, which is normal for such investigations, the fire marshal said. They continue to investigate the cause of the incident with further analysis of the interviews and physical evidence.

An S&S violation is one that could contribute in a significant and substantial way to the cause and effect of a safety or health hazard. Violations designated as unwarrantable failures occur when an inspector finds aggravated conduct that constitutes more than ordinary negligence. Craig Strain, who owns several houses in the neighborhood, was first to arrive at the scene and found Evans standing in the rubble and screaming.

An 89-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman were found dead at the scene of a "severe" house explosion in Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning that damaged two other homes, 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. The cause of the explosion is under investigation by the county fire marshal's office along with borough and county law enforcement. Imbarlina warned that the investigation would be a "slow and long process" that would include a lot of forensic testing and could last "months if not years." Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro tweeted that he and his wife, Lori, were praying for the victims, adding that his office was working with state emergency management officials to assist local emergency responders.