Peoples mum about possible natural gas odor in Rustic Ridge prior to house explosion

Officials at Peoples Natural Gas Co. on Thursday would not say whether they had received reports of natural gas odors in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood in the days before a fatal house explosion.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to share any information on that front, because this is all still under investigation by the (Allegheny County) Fire Marshal,” Peoples spokesman Nick Paradise said.

The fire marshal is “not releasing any further information relative to the investigation at this time,” county spokeswoman Amie Downs said.

In a statement that Plum Borough shared with residents, Peoples said it is helping the fire marshal and the state Public Utility Commission in the investigation.

“As part of our ongoing commitment to safety and reliability, we continue to survey the area and monitor for the presence of natural gas,” the statement said. “Peoples will continue these efforts throughout the coming days to ensure the community’s safety.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro has ordered the state Department of Environmental Protection to also launch an investigation.

Six people died in the explosion at 141 Rustic Ridge Drive. All six were inside the house at the time. Five died at the scene — Heather Oravitz, 51; Kevin Sebunia, 55; Michael Thomas, 57; Casey Clontz, 38; and Keegan Clontz, 12. Paul Oravitz, 56, died from his injuries Wednesday at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh.

Five others in two neighboring homes, at 139 and 143 Rustic Ridge, survived. The three houses were destroyed, while numerous others were damaged, some possibly beyond repair.

Repairs in Regency Park

Paradise also would not discuss details of repair work being done in Plum’s Regency Park neighborhood, about 5 miles from Rustic Ridge.

An odor of natural gas was reported outside at two locations: at Crestview and Mower drives and about a half-mile away on Kathy Lynn Drive.

Paradise said a leak at Crestview and Mower was repaired Monday night, but crews returned to that area Tuesday and continued working and digging further into the night.

Although Paradise said a leak on Kathy Lynn near Saltsburg Road was being fixed Tuesday, the site still was disturbed Thursday morning. Crews appeared to have dug in another location farther down Kathy Lynn toward Regency Drive on either side of the road.

When asked for details about what problems had been found, what had been fixed and what work remained, Paradise declined to say.

He described the work in Regency Park as routine.

“Teams conduct maintenance, inspections and monitoring of our systems,” a company statement said. “This includes performing repair work when necessary.”