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Three people were taken to area hospitals, including one who was in critical condition and two who were treated and released. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office will provide additional information about the deceased victims, authorities said. 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.
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Video: Moment of Pennsylvania home explosion caught on doorbell camera - WBAL TV Baltimore
Video: Moment of Pennsylvania home explosion caught on doorbell camera.
Posted: Mon, 14 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
The house explosion resulted in the tragic loss of life felt across our community. On behalf of the entire school district, I want to express my deepest sympathies and offer support to our school community affected by this tragedy. Steve Imbarlina, the assistant chief for Allegheny County emergency services, said that two of the injured people had been released from the hospital and a third was in critical condition on Sunday afternoon. The blast destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen others, officials said. People should call 911 and the gas company from outside the house, not reenter it and wait for first responders to arrive.
Kevin Sebunia
Plum community continues to rebuild 3 months after tragic house explosion - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Plum community continues to rebuild 3 months after tragic house explosion.
Posted: Tue, 14 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The borough says that the doors will open for healing and reflection where memories can also be shared and celebrated. There also was another explosion in 1996 where natural gas was determined to be the cause. "Police and other borough staff have had to respond to ask that individuals leave the area. We again reiterate – If you do not live in the area and do not have any reason to be there, please stay away from the area," the county said. Neighbors said they smelled gas Tuesday and called the gas company, which confirmed the leaks. One leak was along Kathy Lynn Drive and the other was at Crestview and Mower drives. The Regency Park and Rustic Ridge neighborhoods are about a 10-minute drive apart.
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Zarroli, his wife and their son, Mark, 20, were home that Saturday morning, getting ready to leave. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. 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. Officials set up a Disaster Distress Helpline, and the Red Cross and the Salvation Army were assisting affected residents, the Allegheny County government Facebook post said.
The Public Utilities Commission says it’s monitoring these integrity tests. The PUC added that they’re investigating if public utility infrastructure or operations contributed to the cause and circumstances surrounding the explosion. Borough Manager Michael Thomas, 57, was also killed in the blast. He lived one home over, but he was next door inside the home that exploded at the time. His wife, who is a teacher at Butler Area School District, daughter and their dog were in their home. His wife was able to escape through a window and his daughter was able to run out with the dog.
Recovery operations were halted on Saturday afternoon due to severe weather in the region. It is unclear what caused the explosion, and the investigation is expected to be "slow and long," officials said. A representative from the gas company said pressure and smell checks done in the area indicate that the "system was operating as designed" at the time of the explosion. Several homes were destroyed when the explosion occurred Saturday morning in Allegheny County, officials told reporters during a press conference on Sunday afternoon. A sixth person has died days after a house exploded in Pennsylvania, officials said. “There are three structures destroyed and at least a dozen more damaged in some way,” authorities said.
They and four others in the house at the time — Michael Thomas, Kevin Sebunia, and father-and-son Casey and Keegan Clontz — were killed. The fire marshal's office continues to work with local officials regarding further remediation efforts to make the incident scene safe. “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. At the Governor’s request, an extensive amount of testing has been completed. Over the next few days additional testing will be conducted and shared with the public appropriately,” added Negrin. 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.
Zarroli and his wife, Stacie, lived at 138 Rustic Ridge Drive since 2008. They lived among friends and raised their two daughters and a son there. Three additional homes had to be demolished after the blast and 10 were identified as potentially having significant structural damage. Killed in the Aug. 12 blast were borough manager Michael Thomas; borough Community development director Heather Oravitz and her husband, Paul, Kevin Sebunia and Casey and Keegan Clontz.
Casey Clontz, 38, Keegan Clontz, 12, Heather Oravitz, 51, Kevin Sebunia, 55, and Michael Thomas, 57, all died Saturday. Gov. Josh Shapiro said he and the first lady were "praying for the families" affected and promised them that "as you rebuild, we will have your back." 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. “The findings suggest that concentrations of gas detected on Aug. 14 came from (a) single inundation event, likely the explosion itself,” the DEP’s statement said. Gas samples were collected for isotopic analysis from five of those locations, including the area around a leaking gas pipeline, gas in the soil near a Peoples meter and under the foundation of the home.
Company technicians will be going door to door to conduct a safety check and relight customers’ appliances, the spokesperson said. The development is on abandoned mine land surrounded by shallow oil and gas wells, some of which have been abandoned. Andy Zarroli might be the first of nearly a dozen homeowners in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood to know his house can be repaired following the fatal house explosion two weeks ago.
The state public utilities commission and local utilities also were at the scene. Three homes on Rustic Ridge Drive were leveled by the explosion, and about a dozen others were damaged, county officials said at a news conference Saturday night. Lori and I are praying for the families affected by the house explosion in Plum today. ⁰⁰My Administration and @PEMAHQ are coordinating with and supporting county and local emergency responders.
“Please give us some time to deal with this situation and give the families your respect and give them some space to deal with this tragedy,” Conley said. During times like these, we must lean on one another for comfort and strength. Let us continue to extend a helping hand to the affected families, offering our support, condolences, and assistance in any way possible. Together, we can create an environment of compassion and unity that will help us heal. The video shows Ring doorbell footage of the blast that blew out windows and doors throughout the neighborhood.
Chief Conley said that 57 firefighters were treated at the scene for minor injuries. Walsh also encourages parents to utilize grief resources and other handouts the district has on its Parents Resources webpage. The district is making its crisis intervention team available on Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure the emotional well-being of our students and families as we navigate this unimaginable tragedy,” Walsh said. Video given to Channel 11 shows the moment a house exploded in Plum Borough. As of Saturday night, crews and investigators paused efforts, citing weather and "safety concerns," and said they plan to resume Sunday, Aug. 13.
Officials continue to investigate the explosion that occurred just less than a month ago in Plum’s Rustic Ridge subdivision, the Fire Marshal’s Office said. Paul and Heather Oravitz, Kevin Sebunia, Mike Thomas and Casey and Keegan Clontz were killed in the explosion. "The road ahead for the family is and will continue to be long and hard," the post reads. A GoFundMe started for the family says that "they are just beginning to navigate this horrible tragedy." Sebunia is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a grandson, among others.
After he recovered and checked on his son, Kolankowski went outside, where a woman told him that another woman had been upstairs and that a man was in the basement. The other woman emerged later covered in white ash, but the person in the basement hadn’t yet exited, he said. After recovering and checking on his son, Kolankowski went outside and a woman told him another woman had been upstairs and a man was in the basement. The other woman later emerged covered in white ash, but the individual in the basement had not yet exited, he said. Emergency officials suspended operations Saturday night due to weather and concern for the safety of investigators.
Paul Oravitz, 56, who had severe burns over most of his body, died Wednesday in a Pittsburgh hospital, four days after the explosion in Plum. The town is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh. PLUM, Pa. (AP) — The co-owner of a home that exploded in western Pennsylvania last weekend has died from injuries he suffered in the blast, which also killed his wife and four other people. That house and two others were so badly damaged they must be demolished, and 10 others were not safe for residents in the weeks after the Aug. 12 blast about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh.
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