Video captures shocking moment house explodes into large fireball, killing 5 people: 'This isn't the first time'



At least five people are dead after a house suddenly exploded in a neighborhood outside Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, a house in Plum, a town about 15 miles outside Pittsburgh, exploded, destroying three homes and damaging more than a dozen others in the neighborhood. Five people were killed in the tragic incident — four adults and one child — while another person was critically wounded.

A Ring doorbell camera attached to a nearby house captured the shocking explosion:

— (@)

Crews from 18 different fire departments were dispatched to help battle the ensuing fire and search for victims in the rubble. According to WTAE-TV, 57 firefighters were treated for injuries at the scene.

The cause of the explosion remains unclear, and officials warned the investigation could take months or years. The natural gas utility company that services the area investigated for potential leaks, but the company found its systems had been "operating as designed" when the explosion occurred, WTAE reported.

Plum, unfortunately, is no stranger to home explosions.

Last April, a house exploded in a neighborhood about 4 miles away from the site of Saturday's explosion. Fortunately, no one died in that incident. The cause of that explosion remains under investigation.

There was another deadly explosion in 2008, the cause of which was later discovered. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that a 2-inch natural gas distribution pipeline had been hit by a backhoe when a sewer line was replaced five years prior in 2003, stripping the pipeline of its protective coating and making it susceptible to corrosion and failure.

Holiday Park fire Chief James Sims said he has responded to six house explosions in Plum in his decades as a firefighter.

"This isn't the first time that this has happened in Plum," resident Justin Newman told WTAE. "We need answers. We need to know why this is happening. It's sad that people lost their lives and we don’t have answers. We need answers for these families we need answers for this community."

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'Total devastation': Home explodes in Evansville, Indiana, killing 3 and mangling neighborhood



Authorities do not yet know what caused the massive explosion that rocked the center of Evansville, Indiana, on the 1000 block of North Weinbach Avenue around 12:58 p.m. on Wednesday, but it was fatal all the same. Three are dead. One was hospitalized after the blast.

According to a statement made by Evansville Police Department spokesman Sgt. Anna Gray, two of the victims are believed to have been in the house that exploded, while the third victim was in a neighboring house.

The names of the deceased are being withheld until their families can be properly notified.

\u201cBreaking story today in Evansville, one house exploded, leaving at least three dead, one injured and 39 homes damaged. \n\nTonight on @14News at 6, hear more from @MayorWinnecke and get the latest on what we know right now.\u201d
— Jordan Yaney (@Jordan Yaney) 1660171537

"Calling it thunder would be like an understatement," Max Walter told WHAS11. Walter, who was working nearby, indicated that the explosion shook the building he was in and caused the windows to buckle. When he went outside to see what had happened, "there was insulation and debris falling on us like snow."

The blast sent debris 100 feet in every direction.

The Evansville Fire Department resumed the search for other potential victims several hours after the blast and once the ATF had completed its blast analysis. According to EFD Fire Chief Mike Connelly, "there could be other victims."

Investigators found that a total of 39 houses were damaged by the explosion. Connelly noted that 11 are now "uninhabitable."

Vincent Taylor, a roofer who had been working nearby, told WFIE: "Total devastation. ... A lot of people lost everything down here. Their houses are totally gone."

The Courier & Press reported that of the three houses obliterated by the blast — 1010, 1008, and 1012 N. Weinbach Ave. — two were rental properties.

\u201cAnother look at the N Weinbach explosion in #Evansville. This one is of the actual site of the blast. The home has been reduced to complete rubble. You can see an adjacent home split in half. \n\n\ud83c\udfa5: Drew Strader\n\nWarning: Language\u201d
— Valerie Lyons (@Valerie Lyons) 1660171162

When asked whether the cause of the explosion was a gas leak, Connelly told reporters: "We don't know the cause."

EPD announced late Wednesday that N. Weinbach Ave. would be shut down for the foreseeable future. Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke indicated that the Evansville Red Cross was supporting first responders at the scene and was ready to support sheltering if needed. EPD specified that displaced residents could find resources at Vogel Elementary School.