Officials Reveal Dogs were Rescued From & Survived Home Explosion

POTTSTOWN, PA — Four children and one adult died in a house explosion in Pottstown late last month, but local officials are now revealing that there were some added survivors.

On Friday, the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety revealed for the first time that rescuers had successfully pulled one dog and one puppy from the rubble of the blast scene.

The agency posted on Facebook that the incident commander had requested that the Montgomery County Urban Search & Rescue Team respond to the scene around 8:36 p.m. May 26, not long after the explosion, and while conducting secondary searches of nearby affected structures it was discovered that a dog had been trapped under two floors of debris.

The discovery was made while search and rescue technicians were using search cameras to look for any signs of life at the explosion site.

After the discovery was made, workers sifted through the rubble pile and gained access to where the dog was located, ultimately freeing the pooch, according to the Department of Public Safety.

But the dog, once freed, strangely began to make its way back into the debris. Workers, trying to figure out why the dog went back, sent another camera into the area and ultimately discovered a puppy in roughly the same area as where the adult dog was found.

Both dogs were successfully rescued and released to the care of animal control officers, according to the Department of Public Safety.

The search and rescue team was assisted by the Limerick Fire Department, New Hanover Volunteer Fire & Rescue Services, and other agencies, the department stated.

Four children between the ages of 8 and 13, along with their 67-year-old grandmother, were killed in the house explosion in Pottstown Borough, which also damaged some other nearby homes.

The children's parents sustained serious injuries in the blast.

Agencies continue to investigate what might have caused the house to blow up. No additional information has been released as of late.

Patch continues to monitor this story as the investigation progresses.