Topline
Officials are still investigating the cause of an explosion and fire at a home in a Pittsburgh suburb that killed four people, injured three others, left at least one person unaccounted for and damaged at least a dozen homes Saturday morning.
Key Facts
Police responded to reports of a house fire in Plum, Pennsylvania, just after 10 a.m. Saturday and found people trapped under the debris of an apparent house explosion that destroyed one home and left two others in flames, Allegheny County officials said in a press release.
Officials were still investigating the cause of the explosion as of Saturday night, though investigators stopped work around 10:30 p.m. due to weather.
County and Plum officials were asking people to avoid the area Saturday to let the response team—which was composed of 18 different fire departments—work.
Renton Fire Station is open to nearby residents needing “refuge, food, water or a place to stay,” according to a Facebook post by the Plum Borough.
What To Watch For
Allegheny County spokesperson Amie Downs told Forbes officials expect the next briefing to be “sometime early this afternoon,” but added that officials likely won’t know the cause of the explosion “for quite some time.”
Key Background
The fire occurred in the Rustic Ridge area of Plum, which is about 20 miles east of Pittsburgh. Officials have not yet identified the four victims of the fire and said Saturday night that any information about them would be provided by the medical examiner’s office. The three injured people were transported to a hospital and, as of the 10:30 p.m. update Saturday night, two had been released in stable condition and the third was still in critical condition.