This is something you don’t see every day….
Gas leak?
Meth?
Bomb?
DEW?
No reports yet on exactly what caused it, but wow….
Take a look:
WATCH: House exploded in Plum, Pennsylvania, Ring camera footage shows
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 13, 2023
Reports say 4 people are dead and multiple properties have been damaged:
House Explodes, Four People Die (Caught on Ring Doorbell) PLUM, PA – Four people are dead in an explosion in Plum Borough that destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen more. This Ring doorbell video shows the moment one of the houses exploded. One more person is still… pic.twitter.com/qW6kZpkBrt
— DOORBELL NEWS (@DoorbellNews) August 13, 2023
Total destruction:
Total devastation is the only way to describe the situation in Plum along Rustic Ridge Drive #SKY4 follow @toriyorgeytv and @WTAE for the latest. The size of the blast radius is breathtaking 5 homes destroyed no fewer than a dozen damaged. Debris hundreds of yards away. pic.twitter.com/opkHNxOiKb
— SamHall (@SamDHallJr) August 12, 2023
The AP reports the following:
Four people were dead and a fifth was unaccounted for following a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others Saturday morning, authorities said.
Allegheny County officials said three people were taken to hospitals after the blast shortly before 10:30 a.m. in the borough of Plum, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh.
Three people were transported to area hospitals, including one who was listed in critical condition and two who were treated and released. More than 20 firefighters were evaluated, many for heat exhaustion, authorities said.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office was expected to provide additional information about the deceased victims.
Emergency officials suspended operations Saturday night due to weather and concern for the safety of investigators. Crews were expected to resume working at the site on Sunday morning.
Emergency responders reported people trapped under debris after one house apparently exploded and two others were engulfed in flames, county spokesperson Amie Downs said.
Similar explosions have happened recently elsewhere.
In Dunbar:
Firefighters are battling a fire after a home exploded and collapsed in Dunbar, injuring two people. Dispatchers said nearby homes are being evacuated due to a gas leak. (South Charleston Fire Department Photo)https://t.co/uJuCZ1ng86
— Eyewitness News (@wchs8fox11) August 7, 2023
And Plano:
We had one of these happen here in my neck of the woods. They believe the guy that lived there did it intentionally to end his life. He injured an entire family who lived next door, another neighbor was injured. Then his animals were unalived as well. https://t.co/wnFKwMxtap
— JaiJaiBlues (JJBlues) aka FOXXY (@MzJJBlues) August 13, 2023
But the strangest thing is that this does not appear to be the only explosion in Plum:
There is a serious issue with house explosions within Plum Borough. It’s overdue for a deep investigation into what’s happening here https://t.co/650ldYouxZ
— Ashlie Hardway (@AshlieHardway) August 12, 2023
Six in one township?
What?
This is absolute INSANITY! SIX house explosions??? @TribLIVE please rip into this so no other Plum families have to suffer 💜💛💔
Article: https://t.co/8RFhJhelhm pic.twitter.com/fK0JWvAMPK
— Ashlie Hardway (@AshlieHardway) August 13, 2023
From TribLive:
There have been at least two previous house explosions in Plum since 2008, both in the Holiday Park neighborhood.
The most recent was April 22, 2022, at 5021 Hialeah Drive. A couple and their three sons who lived there survived.
As of September, the cause of the explosion had not been released.
Matt Brown, chief of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services, said in an email Saturday that the investigation has been lengthy because of forensic testing of natural gas lines and appliances and follow-up interviews. He said all of that requires extensive planning and coordination.
A March 2008 house explosion on Mardi Gras Drive was eerily similar in its destruction to Saturday’s incident on Rustic Ridge Drive.
In that incident, when the house at 171 Mardi Gras exploded, two others were destroyed and 11 were damaged.
A grandfather, Richard Leith, 64, of Trafford, was killed and his granddaughter, Gianna, then 4, suffered a broken leg.
A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that a 2-inch natural gas distribution pipeline had been hit by a backhoe when a sewer line was replaced five years prior in 2003, stripping the pipeline of its protective coating and making it susceptible to corrosion and failure.
Questions to be asked on #plumgasexplosion from a former journalist:
1. Excavating companies are the ones who run individual homeowner lines to their home – not the gas co. Was there 1 common denominator excavator who ran lines to these homes and didn’t follow proper protocol? ->— Ashlie Hardway (@AshlieHardway) August 13, 2023
Very strange…
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