A massive house explosion Tuesday morning in rural Pennsylvania’s Crescent Township killed two people and leveled a home, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Family and friends identified the two deceased individuals as Dave and Helen Mitchell, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Massive Explosion At Michigan Warehouse Leaves One Dead: Video)
The township’s Fire Chief Andrew Tomer told the outlet the blast from the house was “absolutely extreme.” “You could feel it in your chest,” Tomer reportedly added. The blast could be felt for miles and was experienced at the fire house prior to 9 a.m., according to the outlet.
The Fire Chief told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by the time firefighters arrived at the blast site — approximately seven minutes after the explosion occurred — the home was already leveled and a fire was consuming what remained. The fire chief reportedly said there was a private gas well with propane tanks on the property but did not clarify whether this was the source of explosion.
Allegheny County Emergency Services also aided in the response to the house explosion. “This remains an active incident. The scene is in a remote location and we’re asking everyone to avoid the area in order to allow responders access,” Allegheny County tweeted.
Allegheny County Emergency Services is assisting first responders in Crescent Township following a house explosion on the 1400 block of Riverview Road. This remains an active incident. The scene is in a remote location and we’re asking everyone to avoid the area in order to allow… pic.twitter.com/58WZuuPDow
— Allegheny County (@Allegheny_Co) March 12, 2024
Neighbors told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the severity of the blast’s aftershock. “It shook the house we live in, and it was big time,” 69-year-old Gary McCutcheon told the outlet. McCutcheon reportedly recalled that the blast caused pictures to fall from the walls and the chandelier in his kitchen to come crashing to the floor. McCutcheon told the outlet that by the time he came running over to the Mitchell residence to investigate the blast “there was nothing left.”
“When I heard [the news] I burst into tears,” Blanche Heidengren, a 65-year-old neighbor and friend of the Mitchells, told the outlet.
A WTAE 4 Sky 4 news helicopter flew over the aftermath of the scene and filmed debris from the explosion that traveled near the local river, some distance away from the blast site, according to video from the outlet. The video showed a close up of the still smoking remains of the former house. “Of course, from your perspective, we can see exactly what’s going on now and it just looks devastating,” the outlet reported.