(COUNTY NEWS) County, Plum Officials Provide Update on Plum House Explosion Investigation, Response

PITTSBURGH – The Allegheny County Fire Marshal (ACFM) remains the lead investigator for the August 12, 2023 Plum house explosion. Upon the conclusion of its investigation, ACFM will determine origin and cause. The process is often long and involved and investigators review every possibility to ensure that they have as much information as they can before issuing any determination.

Initial Response

ACFM has been asked for additional information regarding the agencies that responded to the August 12 incident. There were 38 different fire agencies, from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Additionally, three police departments and eight EMS agencies, again from both Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, responded.

The victims of this incident were all found on the same property. One victim was located outside of the garage area. Four victims were located inside of the basement level. One victim was located and rescued from the rear yard and transported to a trauma center. That sixth victim died a few days later.

ACES/EMA continues to remain engaged daily with local officials and community leaders on all recovery efforts.

Department of Human Services Supports

The Department of Human Services continues to support the community. Its Emergency Behavioral Health (EBH) team was in the community on Thursday going door-to-door to 200 homes in the neighborhood offering resources and referrals. At the borough’s request, the team will be back in the community on Saturday and will be present at various vigils in the community on Sunday.

Office of Behavioral Health school assistance program liaisons have been supporting schools impacted by this even through existing connections they have with students. These liaisons will continue to work with students into the school year as needed.

DHS services continue to be available to emergency personnel and local stakeholders as well, in collaboration with Emergency Services.

Plum Borough Notifications

Plum Borough officials advised that three houses in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood will be torn down once released by the ACFM. A total of 10 homes are currently uninhabitable. This doesn’t mean that the houses will be torn down, it just means that property owners need to have a structural engineer analyze the structure to determine next steps.

Fire and Explosion Investigatory Process

ACFM has received a number of inquiries regarding the fire and explosion investigatory process. While a simplified overview, an investigation would follow this general process with each step dictating change and tactics being deployed.

Upon request, ACFM investigators arrive on scene and meet with the incident commander. They also work with the commander to ensure that all utilities are secured and continually review utility status. Appropriate notifications of partner agencies, including the PA Emergency Management Agency, the PA Utility Commission, Fire Commissioners Office, PA Department of Environmental Protection, and others, occurs in the early stages of response.

First responders, witnesses, homeowners, and occupants will be interviewed to gather information while the team also gathers photographs, video, drone imagery, and 3-D scans. Investigators work from outside of the incident site towards the inside of the incident. In the event of an explosion, ACFM would work with gas companies to do explosive gas readings and bar-hole testing. Investigators outline the scope of their investigative work, each is site specific, and apply the scientific method.

Currently, the ACFM has deployed a systemic approach, identifying heat sources, first fuel ignited, and the act/circumstances that brought them all together. It is this stage of the investigation that the fire marshals are actively working on and following up on.

Peoples Gas has worked with ACFM and the entire Plum community every day. They have involved ACFM deputies in all of their local system testing, which adds great value to the investigation, leaving no stone unturned.

PA Department of Environmental Protection Investigation

Chief Matt Brown, the county’s Fire Marshal, provided the following response to the investigation:

“The Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services, which includes the Office of the Fire Marshal, works frequently with different levels of PA DEP in our daily operations and responses. The assistance provided in support of our Fire Marshal investigation is always appreciated and beneficial for all the same reasons listed. Our deputies investigating on scene are in daily contact with the DEP officials, as well as local and other agency officials on scene,
since early this week.

“In times of disaster and in our daily planning and preparation for responding to and preventing emergencies, nothing serves responders and residents better than cooperative agencies working together for the safety of the communities that we serve.”

Other Plum Cases

ACFM has received a number of inquiries regarding older, similar incidents within Plum and has been asked if they had any relation to one another.

In the mid-1990s, an explosion on Regency Drive was determined to be caused by an individual in an attempted suicide. In 1996, a Regency Drive explosion was attributed to a gas leak. There was one fatality and one injury. In 2008, a Mardi Gras Drive explosion was determined to be contractor related. There was one fatality and one injury. An explosion in April 2022 on Hialeah Drive remains under investigation at this time. The home had five occupants with only minor injuries reported.

ACFM has not seen any sign of these events being of a single source, or of the same origin or cause. That being said, the investigation is ongoing and so whether there are any other common denominators is undetermined.

General Reminders

ACFM reminds residents of these best practices, and also encourages homeowners to install combustible gas detectors.

If you smell natural gas, do NOT turn on any appliances or light switches.
Exit the house and go to a safe area away from the house.
Call 9-1-1 from outside of the house.
Call the gas company from outside of the house.
Do not re-enter the house.
Wait for first responders to arrive.

Final Notes

While we understand that the media is doing its job, the Rustic Ridge community is frustrated that they aren’t able to walk out their front doors, or talk with neighbors, without being filmed or someone trying to interview them. Several local businesses have also indicated that they have had media outlets showing up hoping to speak with customers. We have been asked to convey that they are simply asking for some space at this time as they continue to recover from this incident that impacted their entire neighborhood.

The county does not plan to release further details related to the investigation as ACFM continues its work. When afinal determination is made, the ACFM will release that information publicly.