Plum House Explosion: Blast Point Of Origin Identified

PLUM BOROUGH, PA — The Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office has determined that the point of origin of last month's Rustic Ridge Drive house explosion that killed six people was the home itself.

That determination came after all potential outside factors such as wells, pipeline, ground gas propagation and other utilities were inspected and tested at several levels by each of the various agencies and companies investigating the explosion.

While the exact cause of the blast has yet to be determined, "all findings to date that there are no factors external to the home that exploded that led to the explosion," the fire marshal's office said in a release.

Killed in the Aug. 12 blast were borough manager Michael Thomas; borough Community development director Heather Oravitz and her husband, Paul, Kevin Sebunia and Casey and Keegan Clontz. The Oravitzs owned the home that exploded.

Three additional homes had to be demolished after the blast and 10 were identified as potentially having significant structural damage. Engineers are assessing those properties.

Several joint investigative efforts have been initiated and remain in process with agencies including the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Plum Police Department, Peoples Gas, and several represented insurance carriers.

The fire marshal's office continues to work with local officials regarding further remediation efforts to make the incident scene safe.

The office cautioned that the investigative process is often long and involved as investigators review every possibility to ensure that they have as much information as they can before issuing any determination.