Rustic Ridge homeowners whose houses were damaged by the house explosion could get tax relief

Table Of Content

• PUC Safety Division Provides Update on Investigation into Deadly House Explosion in Plum Borough, Allegheny County
• State & Local Officials Respond
• Rustic Ridge homeowners whose houses were damaged by the house explosion could get tax relief
• Allegheny County library card holders can get free admission to over a dozen attractions this summer
• Filing & Resources
• Plum house explosion: 4 dead, 1 unaccounted for, 3 homes destroyed
• Resources Available

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PUC Safety Division Provides Update on Investigation into Deadly House Explosion in Plum Borough, Allegheny County

Fischer saw the video of the massive blast that obliterated the house at 141 Rustic Ridge and destroyed the houses on either side, killing five. While authorities have yet to identify causes for either explosion, Fischer said they appear quite different from each other. County officials told the Trib they do not believe there is a central source, cause or origin in those two explosions or three others dating to the mid-1990s. Rafal Kolankowski, who lived a couple of houses away, might have summed it up best. Plum’s new municipal center, which the borough used to help Rustic Ridge residents after Saturday’s tragedy, was Thomas’ baby, Doyle said.

State & Local Officials Respond

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. “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. Bishop David Zubik hosted a prayer service for the community on Tuesday at Saint John the Baptist Church in Plum. The borough says that the doors will open for healing and reflection where memories can also be shared and celebrated. "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.

Rustic Ridge homeowners whose houses were damaged by the house explosion could get tax relief

Electric service to all but the most damaged homes was restored Sunday afternoon. Two others were treated and released from hospitals, said Steve Imbarlina, deputy director of fire and emergency medical services for Allegheny County. 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." Upon arriving at the scene, authorities found people trapped under debris and reported that it appeared that one house had exploded while two others were "engulfed in fire," police said.

Allegheny County library card holders can get free admission to over a dozen attractions this summer

Plum house explosion: 5 dead, including 1 child - WTAE Pittsburgh

Plum house explosion: 5 dead, including 1 child.

Posted: Mon, 14 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Official identification is expected to take some time as it will involve use of dental records and, potentially, DNA for formal identification, authorities said. Family members confirmed for the Tribune-Review that two of the victims are Casey Clontz, 38, and his son, Keegan, 12. Residents of Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood milled about in their yards and driveways Sunday, trying to come to terms with what happened there the day before. Three additional homes had to be demolished after the blast and 10 were identified as potentially having significant structural damage. The sound of the explosion could even be heard at a local baseball game, as seen in the video posted below. It’s upsetting, but it pales in comparison to what everybody else is going through.

House Explosion Under Investigation

Some of those friends were lost when the home of Paul and Heather Oravitz, diagonally across the street at 141 Rustic Ridge, blew up on the morning of Aug. 12. They and four others in the house at the time — Michael Thomas, Kevin Sebunia, and father-and-son Casey and Keegan Clontz — were killed. 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. The Red Cross is on the scene to assist with aftermath of the explosion. Additionally, a family resource center is being set up to help neighboring families.

Filing & Resources

Per state law, the Fire Marshal’s Office will determine the explosion’s origin and cause at the end of its investigation. There is no time frame for when the investigation will be complete. 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. A Harrison native and Tarentum resident, Dave has worked for the Trib and one of its predecessors since 1978.

Plum house explosion: 4 dead, 1 unaccounted for, 3 homes destroyed

However, an unknown number of those may be able to be repaired and lived in again, as long as they are determined to be structurally safe. Since the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s office released the scene, it’s been cleaned up and sold, with a new house expected to be built there, said Greg Fischer, who lives across the street. A lot on Hialeah Drive in Plum’s Holiday Park neighborhood where a house exploded and burned in April 2022 is just a grassy space between two other homes today.

Resources Available

Rogers said firefighters allowed him to go back in quickly and rescue his dog. Sims said tanker trucks hauled in water and pumper engines got the water to the fire scene via portable dunk tanks. There were 18 fire departments that responded, according to Plum police. 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. 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.

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. Crews from at least 18 fire departments worked to douse the flames with the help of water tankers from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, Downs said. 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. Rogers’ family made it out of their home safely, but three cats and a dog remained inside.

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. First responders found people trapped under debris and two homes "engulfed in fire," in addition to one that appeared to have exploded and multiple others with the windows blown out, according to the post. The police responded to a report of a house explosion around 10 a.m. In Plum, a borough in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania just east of Pittsburgh. In addition to those resources, the Plum Senior High School is open Monday and Tuesday, offering support services for students, staff, and community members.

Kellen Stepler is a TribLive reporter covering the Allegheny Valley and Burrell school districts and surrounding areas. One of the two pipelines, a suction line to a compressor station, was known to be leaking but was taken out of commission a week before the explosion, the DEP said. The other pipeline, a gathering line that ties into the suction line, was taken out of service immediately after the explosion “out of an abundance of caution.” On Aug. 15, that gathering line passed a pressure test with no leaks detected. But, while the explosion at 5021 Hialeah shook Fischer’s home, it did not blow out his windows or blow off his roof.