By: Rob Amen
Source: Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa. (TNS)
Aug. 12—A house exploded in Plum late Saturday morning, killing four people and injuring several others.
Authorities announced the revised death toll at a press conference late Saturday.
Officials did not release the victims' identities, ages or genders, where they were found or where they died. They said another person is still unaccounted for.
The house, along Rustic Ridge Drive near the corner of Brookside Drive, exploded at about 10:25 a.m., authorities said. The houses on either side caught fire and burned to the ground.
Three people were taken to area hospitals. Two were transported when they were in stable condition and have since been released from the hospital. The third person remained in critical condition late Saturday.
At least a dozen other houses were damaged in some way, Plum police said. They reported that people were trapped under debris.
Officials originally thought first responders would be able to work throughout the night at the scene. But heavy rains and concerns about investigators' safety canceled those plans. Recovery efforts will resume Sunday morning.
The house that exploded, 141 Rustic Ridge Drive, is owned by Paul D. and Heather L. Oravitz, according to Allegheny County records. Those same records indicate that one of the neighboring houses that was destroyed is owned by Michael and Jacqueline Thomas. The other is owned by Harrison A. and Kelly Smith.
Heather Oravitz is Plum's director of community development; Michael Thomas is Plum's borough manager.
Greg Renko lives six houses away from the explosion site. He happens to be an Allegheny County Police officer with the county homicide unit, and rushed to the scene.
"The boom goes off, and I kind of know right away what I was expecting to find," he said. "One house was rubble, the other two houses were on fire." The heat was intense.
He ran to the pile of rubble and screamed to see if anyone could respond.
He saw movement, and he and another neighbor, George Emanuele, carried a severely injured man away from the immediate scene.
"Myself and a Plum officer go back to the pile. We can hear screaming. But we couldn't get down deep enough.
Next door, we pulled a woman from the house," he said. "I tried to get back in. The fire was too hot. I had to pull back."
Emanuele lives three houses down from the home that exploded.
He was eating a sandwich at about 10:30 a.m. when he heard a loud noise; he thought the neighbor's roof had collapsed. When he looked out, he didn't see flames at first.
He and a neighbor, Renko, went to the house before the flames became out of control. They went around to the backyard and found a man lying in the yard. They dragged him about 50 feet away from the house. Tears welled as he described the incident.
Emanuele said the man whose house exploded said "there was a lot of ammo in the house."
Periodic explosions still could be heard after the initial incident.
Another neighbor, PJ Proffitt, said he thinks he heard ammunition exploding.
"Oh, yeah — it's very distinct," he said. "It was dangerous, so I backed off."
In describing the devastation, Proffitt said, "I haven't see anything like this since I was in the military."
Allegheny County Fire Marshal Don Brucker said the incident sounds like it was a natural gas explosion, but he said "I have no idea" for sure.
A Peoples natural gas company crew was on scene, as were representatives of the state Public Utility Commission.
"Our crews are on site and have turned off the gas to the affected area," said Peoples spokesperson Nick Paradise. He said gas service was shut off to about 50 homes. "We will continue to update our customers on when we believe gas will be restored."
Duquesne Light spokesperson Sara Walker said about 200 of its customers were without power following the explosion "to ensure the safety of emergency responders on-site and nearby residents."
Shortly after 8 p.m., Walker said Duquesne Light has conducted the necessary inspections and was waiting for approval from the building inspector, fire marshal and gas company to restore power to the affected customers.
Firefighters were going door-to-door, checking outside gas lines and going inside houses.
Residents that need a place to go were directed to the Renton Volunteer Fire Department, 1996 Old Mine Road.
Plum Borough announced Saturday night that it was making the borough building available to residents in need on Sunday morning. It will open at 8 a.m. Coffee, water, food, restrooms and a place to stay are being offered.
In addition, a helpline has been set up for any residents or first responders who are stressed by the situation: 1-800-985-5990.
Holiday Park fire Chief James Sims said two injured people were taken to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.
Sims said he has been a Plum firefighter for 48 years.
"I've been to my share of house explosions," said Sims, who serves as Plum's emergency management coordinator. "I've been to six house explosions in Plum. This is the worst I've seen."
Asked about reports of water pressure issues the firefighters faced, he said the first hydrant tapped into was at the bottom of a nearby hill. So when firefighters tried to get water from another hydrant on top of the hill, the water pressure was not what it should have been.
There were 18 fire departments that responded, according to Plum police.
Sims said tanker trucks hauled in water and pumper engines got the water to the fire scene via portable dunk tanks.
Authorities praised people in the neighborhood for providing water, fans and other assistance to firefighters, who worked in temperatures in the 80s.
Officials said 20 firefighters were treated at the scene, mostly for heat exhaustion.
Jeremy Rogers lives two doors down from the house that exploded.
"My cabinets are all down in my kitchen. The ceiling's falling in," Rogers said.
He had been out shopping when his Ring doorbell alerted him to something wrong at the house, he said.
"I looked and saw all sorts of stuff flying around."
Rogers' family made it out of their home safely, but three cats and a dog remained inside. Rogers said firefighters allowed him to go back in quickly and rescue his dog. He was eventually reunited with two of his three cats.
Amy Cooper lives across the street, two doors up.
"I felt like a compression — like a bomb went off," Cooper said. Plaster from the ceiling fell immediately. Windows broke, her siding blew out.
"I thought it was my house," Cooper said. She encountered a neighbor who said, "We got to get out."
Cooper said her kids and dogs were not home.
Allegheny County released a statement that its 911 dispatchers had been deluged with calls seeking information Saturday afternoon. Officials asked the public to wait for further statements to be released, and two press conferences were held later.
Rob Amen is a Tribune-Review managing editor. You can contact Rob by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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