Remembering borough manager who died in explosion: Michael Thomas was 'a Plum guy through and through'

Andy Zarroli got to know Michael Thomas first as a friend, and then as Plum’s borough manager.

And their friendship overcame the fact that Zarroli, 56, is from Philadelphia and Thomas, 57, grew up in Pittsburgh’s Morningside neighborhood.

“Mike was a friend of mine. He was a close friend of mine,” Zarroli said Wednesday. “I grew up in the Philadelphia area. Mike used to always razz me about it. Mike would get on me about Philadelphia — ‘Why don’t you move back, what are you doing here, why are you an Eagles fan?’ ”

Zarroli was home Saturday with his wife, Stacie, and son, Mark, on Rustic Ridge Drive, roughly across the street from Thomas’ house, when an explosion at the home of Paul and Heather Oravitz, next to Thomas’, changed everything.

Thomas was in the Oravitz home along with neighbors Kevin Sebunia, Casey Clontz and Clontz’s son, Keegan. Authorities have learned they were working on a hot water tank in the Oravitz home.

“Mike was there helping Paul. He always helped,” Zarroli said. “Whenever you called Mike, he would come help and he would do anything.”

Some neighbors at a vigil Tuesday evening said that corner of Rustic Ridge was like “fraternity row” because everyone was friends, got along great and always hung out together.

Rafal Kolankowski, who lives on Brookside Drive a couple of houses away from Thomas, said Thomas once came down to help when he was installing concrete steps in his front yard.

“Mike was a cool dude,” Kolankowski said. “If you needed something, he was there.”

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Thomas, Sebunia, Heather Oravitz and Casey and Keegan Clontz were killed in the explosion. Paul Oravitz survived but died Wednesday from his injuries at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh.

Thomas’ wife, Jackie, and their daughter, Hannah, 16, were in their home and survived. Their home was destroyed by the blast and subsequent fire.

“It was a devastatingly loud explosion. It knocked me off my couch,” Zarroli said. “My first thought was it was a bomb.”

Zarroli said his house was so badly damaged that it has been condemned. His family is staying at a hotel in Monroeville.

“I don’t remember a whole lot. I remember thinking, ‘This isn’t real.’ I’m going to wake up or something,” he said. “For me, it’s not getting easier. This morning was harder than yesterday.”

Thomas had been Plum’s manager since 2005. He and Councilman Mike Doyle, council’s longtime president, came to the borough’s government around the same time.

“He wasn’t just my borough manager, he was my friend,” Doyle said. “I would put him up against any borough manager in the state as far as knowledge and as far as integrity. He was everybody’s go-to guy.”

Plum’s new municipal center, which the borough used to help Rustic Ridge residents after Saturday’s tragedy, was Thomas’ baby, Doyle said.

“Mike moved into this borough for this job. When he got here, this was his home and he made it better,” Doyle said. “Our community days has grown and grown and grown because of Mike and the staff, but it was through his leadership. This past Summerfest was the largest we’ve ever had.

“Mike touched everything in this borough,” Doyle said. “He was just a spectacular manager and an even better person.”

Thomas was in many ways a mentor to Michael Nestico, the chief administrator of Murrysville and previously borough manager in Tarentum.

“As a local municipal manager, he was always willing to provide feedback to me about things taking place in our local communities,” Nestico said. “He was very generous with his time and answered many questions for me over the years. I really appreciated that about him.”

Nestico got to know Thomas more personally while golfing with him at Local Government Academy outings each summer for the past four or five years.

“He was a very intelligent guy with a great personality,” Nestico said. “It certainly won’t be the same without him.”

Harry Schlegel, in his sixth year as Plum’s mayor and previously the borough’s tax collector, said he has known Thomas for about a dozen years and on a more personal basis since he has been mayor.

“One of the things about Mike a lot of people didn’t know was the man spoke fluent Italian. He lived in Italy and had gone to school in Italy. He lived there for four or five years,” Schlegel said.

It was in Italy that Thomas gained an appreciation for food and cooking, the mayor said.

“His was the only house I knew that had three kitchens — the main kitchen upstairs, he had one down in his lower level and he had a full outdoor kitchen,” Schlegel said. “He was quite an accomplished chef. He kept talking about opening a small restaurant when he retired in five years or so. Cooking was his passion.”

When new members were elected to borough council, Doyle said he always told them to lean on Thomas.

“He’s going to make you look good. He’s going to teach you a lot,” Doyle said. “They’ve all done that, and they’ve grown into being good councilmen.”

Ryan Delaney, 36, was elected to council in 2019. He grew up in Rustic Ridge and now makes his home in Holiday Park.

“As a newcomer, a young buck in the political field, he treated me with such kindness, such guidance and was so responsive,” Delaney said. “Anytime I hit him up with a resident concern or question, not only did I get a quick response, as soon as I saw him in person at a council meeting he followed up on it. The last conversation I had with him was about a resident’s concern.”

Delaney said he’ll remember Thomas’ smile and laughter.

“He worked hard for this borough. He did a lot,” Delaney said. “It’s going to be weird going to a meeting without him there.”

Zarroli said he saw hundreds of times where Thomas did things for people in Plum, but they wouldn’t know it was him.

“He did so much for the community and never made a big deal about it. He didn’t want anyone to know,” Zarroli said. “I used to say, ‘Mike, why don’t you publicize this, let people know?’ He didn’t want to do that. He only cared about making our community better.”

The community’s baseball and soccer organizations are among those Thomas helped.

Fred Lucas, president of Plum Area Youth Soccer since 1995 and a resident of the Renton area, got to know Thomas through Paul Oravitz, his friend and soccer board member.

“I always got along with Mike from the get-go. He was one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met,” Lucas said. “He had a lot on his plate — manager, dad, husband. The guy always came through, whatever you needed.”

Lucas said a story he remembers is that Thomas grew up playing football. But when he had his daughter, that meant football was out. So he signed her up for soccer at a young age, thinking she’d do it for only a year. Instead, she played from her youth into high school.

“He had a vested interest in our program. He always looked out for us. He never overstepped his boundaries as borough manager by doing it,” he said. “Mike Thomas was one of the guys who made you proud to be from Plum Borough. Even though he wasn’t born in Plum, he was a Plum guy through and through.”