5 dead after explosion at home near Pittsburgh

Miranda Nazzaro
·2 min read

Five people are dead after a house explosion over the weekend destroyed three homes and damaged several others in western Pennsylvania, officials said.

Plum Borough Police Chief Lanny Conley said at a press conference Sunday that the bodies of four adults and one adolescent were recovered in the home explosion in the borough, which is around 20 miles east of Pittsburgh.

Conley said additional information about the victims will be released by the medical examiner’s office.

“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.

Multiple 911 calls came in shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday with reports of a home explosion, according to Steve Imbarlina, deputy director of fire and emergency services in Allegheny County.

Imbarlina said three people were taken to the hospital, two of which have been released while the third remains in critical condition.

County spokesperson Amie Downs told The Associated Press emergency responders said people were trapped under debris after the blast leveled one house and engulfed two other homes in flames.

Imbarlina told the press that 57 firefighters were also treated on the scene for “minor issues” and later released to help with the response.

The Alleghany County Fire Marshall’s Office will be leading an investigation into the cause of the explosion, Imbarlina said, noting it will be a “long and slow process.” Imbarlina said the investigation could last months, if not years, to allow for forensic testing.

Peoples Gas president Michael Huwar said the company was called to the scene shortly after the explosion and checked the area for leakage either underground or by air while also verifying consistent pressure at the company’s regulation stations. Huwar said their current findings show the company’s “system was operating as designed.”

Updated at 10:08 a.m.

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