A house explosion in Plum left four people dead and one still unaccounted for, local emergency officials said Saturday night. Watch the main message about Plum in the video player above. The names of the dead have not yet been released. The cause of the blast is still under investigation.”All operations surrounding the tragedy have been suspended for the evening due to the weather and darkness and the safety of all involved,” Plum Police Det. James Little said. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office will return to the scene Sunday morning. Three homes were destroyed and at least a dozen damaged by the explosion, which was reported around 10:23 a.m. on Rustic Ridge Drive at Brookside Drive, Allegheny County spokeswoman Sky 4 flew over the scene of the explosion: Click on the video below to see the damage.” Police and fire department first responders “Amy Downs said when they arrived at the scene, they found people trapped in the rubble and what appeared to be a house. There was an explosion, and two people were engulfed in flames. Several homes were damaged as windows were smashed,” Downs said in a statement. Watch an update from local emergency officials in the video below. Video from WTAE’s news partners on TripLive showed intense flames. Coming from a home. Water tankers remained on the scene as several local fire departments continued to respond. Allegheny County Emergency Management officials were also on scene. People gas crews were on site, and a spokeswoman said gas was turned off in the affected area while the utility worked with emergency responders on the scene. Residents needing a place to go are directed to the Renton Volunteer Fire Department at 1996 Old Mine Rd. The moment of the house explosion was captured on a doorbell camera: Watch the video above. “I’ve been to six house explosions in Plum, and this is the worst I’ve seen in 47 or 48 years, the worst, the amount of damage,” said Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department chief and Plum’s emergency management coordinator. James Sims said. Watch the full interview with Fire Chief below. Neighbor Alexis Tybansky said she was sleeping when the explosion happened. “I heard this ‘boom.’ It was scary,” she said. An explosion was also heard. You can hear it at a local baseball game, as seen in the video below. This is a growing story. Stay tuned to Pittsburgh Action News 4 for updates. Download the WTAE mobile app to stay connected with breaking news.
A house explosion in Plum left four people dead and one person still unaccounted for, local emergency officials said Saturday night.
Watch Plum’s keynote report in the video player above.
The names of the deceased have not yet been released. The cause of the blast is under investigation.
“All operations related to this tragedy have been suspended for the evening due to the weather and darkness and the safety of all involved,” Plum police Det. James Little said. The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office will return to the scene Sunday morning.
The 10:23 a.m. explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive at Brookside Drive destroyed three homes and damaged at least a dozen others, Allegheny County spokeswoman Amy Downs said.
Sky 4 flies over blast scene: Click video below to see damage
“First responders from the police and fire departments arrived at the scene and reported people trapped in the rubble, one home that appeared to have exploded, and two other homes that appeared to be on fire. Several homes had windows shattered,” Towns said in a statement.
Watch an update from local emergency officials in the video below.
Video WTAE’s news partners TribLIVE showed heavy flames coming from a home.
Water tankers arrived at the scene as several local fire departments continued rescue operations. Allegheny County Emergency Management officials were also on scene.
People’s gas crews were on site, and a spokeswoman said gas had been turned off in the affected area. Residents needing a place to go are directed to the Renton Volunteer Fire Department at 1996 Old Mine Road.
Doorbell camera captures moment house explodes: Watch video above
“I’ve been to six house explosions in Plum, and this is the worst I’ve seen in 47 years or 48 years, the worst one, the amount of damage,” said Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Chief James Sims. Department and Emergency Management Coordinator for Plum.
Watch the full interview with the fire official below.
Neighbor Alexis Tybansky said he was sleeping when the blast happened.
“I heard this ‘boom’. It was so loud, it woke me up. I thought it was thunder from the storm last night. My water bottle immediately fell on me, I was shaking, it really scared me,” she said.
The explosion was even heard at a local baseball game, as seen in the video posted below.
This is a growing story. Stay tuned to Pittsburgh Action News 4 for updates. Download the WTAE Mobile App Stay connected with important news.
