Topline
Officials are still investigating the cause of an explosion and fire at a home in a Pittsburgh suburb that killed five people, injured three others, and damaged at least a dozen homes Saturday morning.
Key Facts
Police responded to reports of a house fire in Plum, Pennsylvania, just after 10 a.m. Saturday and found people trapped under the debris of an apparent house explosion that destroyed three homes and damaged at least 12 other structures, Allegheny County officials said in a press release.
County officials said in a release Sunday afternoon five bodies were recovered from the scene—four adults and one adolescent.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the explosion as of Sunday and said now that the search for missing people is over, the investigation into the cause will now begin “in earnest,” but Assistant Chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services Steve Imbarlina said in a press conference it could take months or years.
County and Plum officials are still asking nonresidents to avoid the area as of Sunday afternoon.
Renton Fire Station is open to nearby residents needing “refuge, food, water or a place to stay,” according to a Facebook post by the Plum Borough.
Big Number
18. That’s how many fire departments were involved in the response team. Imbarlina said 57 firefighters from the departments were treated on scene for minor issues, some of which were heat-related injuries.
What To Watch For
Allegheny County spokesperson Amie Downs told Forbes officials expect the next briefing to be “sometime early this afternoon,” but added that officials likely won’t know the cause of the explosion “for quite some time.”
Key Background
The fire occurred in the Rustic Ridge area of Plum, which is about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh. Officials have not yet identified the four victims of the fire and said Saturday night that any information about them would be provided by the medical examiner’s office. The three injured people were transported to a hospital and, as of the 10:30 p.m. update Saturday night, two had been released in stable condition and the third was still in critical condition.
Further Reading
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/08/13/five-dead-in-pittsburgh-area-house-explosion-and-cause-still-unknown/