Current:Home > BackPennsylvania county says house that exploded was having ‘hot water tank issues’-VaTradeCoin
Pennsylvania county says house that exploded was having ‘hot water tank issues’
View Date:2025-01-08 16:03:55
Pennsylvania fire officials are still investigating the cause of a house explosion which left five people, including a child, dead and several other homes damaged, officials said Monday.
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 tank was located in the basement of the home,” county officials said.
Around 10:20 a.m. Saturday, Allegheny County officials received 911 calls reporting a house explosion in Plum, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, with “multiple injuries and several houses on fire,” Allegheny County officials said in a statement provided by the Plum Police Department.
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.
“There are three structures destroyed and at least a dozen more damaged in some way,” authorities said.
5 people killed in the explosion, 3 injured
Plum Borough Police Chief Lanny Conley said four adult bodies and a child were recovered shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Three people were taken to area hospitals, including one who was in critical condition and two who were treated and released. The names of the victims were not 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.
‘It looks like a war zone,’ neighbor says
George Emanuele, who lives three houses down from the home that exploded, said he and a neighbor went to the home after the explosion and dragged a man laying in the backyard away from the scene, he told the Tribune-Review.
Rafal Kolankowski, who lives a few houses away, said the explosion broke the windows in his house and knocked him and his wife to the ground, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“It’s just tragic, I mean, it looks like a war zone — it looks like a bomb hit our neighborhood and it’s just unfortunate,” Kolankowski said. “I was just with some of the neighbors yesterday, right, and now this happens.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
veryGood! (13)
Related
- What that 'Disclaimer' twist says about the misogyny in all of us
- How Travis Kelce does with and without Taylor Swift attending Kansas City Chiefs games
- California schools release a blizzard of data, and that’s why parents can’t make sense of it
- Women lawmakers take the lead in shaping policy in Nebraska. Advocates hope other states follow.
- Paraguay vs. Argentina live updates: Watch Messi play World Cup qualifying match tonight
- FBI searches the homes of at least three top deputies to New York City’s mayor
- An Amish woman dies 18 years after being severely injured in a deadly schoolhouse shooting
- Caity Simmers, an 18-year-old surfing phenom, could pry record from all-time great
- Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
- US widens indictment of Russians in ‘WhisperGate’ conspiracy to destroy Ukrainian and NATO systems
Ranking
- Oklahoma school district adding anti-harassment policies after nonbinary teen’s death
- Missouri judge says abortion-rights measure summary penned by GOP official is misleading
- Defensive coordinator Richard Aspinwall among 4 killed in Georgia high school shooting
- Rapper Rich Homie Quan Dead at 34
- Armie Hammer Says His Mom Gifted Him a Vasectomy for His 38th Birthday
- Trump lawyers fight to overturn jury’s finding that he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll
- Michigan newlyweds are charged after groomsman is struck and killed by SUV
- George Kittle, Trent Williams explain how 49ers are galvanized by Ricky Pearsall shooting
Recommendation
-
Britney Spears Reunites With Son Jayden Federline After His Move to Hawaii
-
Caitlin Clark returns to action: How to watch Fever vs. Lynx on Friday
-
Aryna Sabalenka overpowers Emma Navarro to advance to US Open final again
-
Video shows flood waters gush into Smithtown Library, damage priceless artifacts: Watch
-
Ex-Marine misused a combat technique in fatal chokehold of NYC subway rider, trainer testifies
-
Persistent power outages in Puerto Rico spark outrage as officials demand answers
-
Trump lawyers fight to overturn jury’s finding that he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll
-
Soccer Star Alex Morgan Reveals She’s Pregnant With Baby No. 2 in Retirement Announcement