5 People Dead After House Explodes in Quiet Pittsburgh Suburb: ‘It Looks Like a Warzone’

Five people are now confirmed dead, after an explosion decimated a section of quiet Plum, Pennsylvania neighborhood on Saturday morning. 

In addition to those who were confirmed dead, three more were transferred to the hospital. Two were treated and released, while one victim remains in critical condition, according to Amie M. Downs, the Allegheny County director of communications.  

Officials could not yet confirm the victims’ identities but said that one adolescent and four adults died. The investigation is expected to “take quite a while,” detective Joseph Little said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

Emergency responders were first alerted to the explosion, shortly before 10:30 a.m., on Saturday, according to Allegheny County. Firefighters from 18 surrounding departments worked to put out the blaze and search for victims, while neighbors brought water and chairs to the first responders.  

Crews suspended their work at 9:45 p.m., due to concerns about safety, but renewed response efforts on Sunday morning, according to Downs.

The cause of the explosion, which destroyed three buildings and damaged several others, is still under investigation by county, state and town officials. Allegheny County confirmed, in a Sunday press release, that the explosion occurred at 141 Rustic Ridge Drive.

One neighbor, Rafal Kolankowski, told reporters that the force of the explosion shattered his windows and knocked him to the ground. 

“It’s just tragic, I mean, it looks like a war zone — it looks like a bomb hit our neighborhood and it’s just unfortunate,” Kolankowski told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 

“The houses can be fixed. But when you lose a life like this, obviously it’s tragic.”