6th victim dies from Plum house explosion

For four days, Paul Oravitz fought for his life in the UPMC Mercy burn unit as the Rustic Ridge community prayed.

On Wednesday, his fight ended.

Oravitz died as a result of injuries suffered in a house explosion Saturday in his home in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood of Plum.

He is the sixth person to die in the blast. He was 56.

Oravitz’s wife, Heather, 51; and neighbors Mike Thomas, 57; Kevin Sebunia, 55; Casey Clontz, 38, and son Keegan Clontz, 12, also died. All were in the Oravitz home at 141 Rustic Ridge Drive at the time of the explosion.

Paul Oravitz was pulled from the rubble moments after the explosion by neighbors Greg Renko and George Emanuele. He was taken by ambulance to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville before being taken to UPMC Mercy hospital.

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Plum Council President Mike Doyle announced his death, which was later confirmed by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Oravitz’s wife, Heather, was Plum’s director of community development. Thomas was Plum’s borough manager.

The cause and manner of death for all the victims are pending, and it is not known when that will be determined, the medical examiner’s office said. All remains have been released to the families for funerals and burial.

The Oravitzes had two adult children, a daughter, Taylor, 23, and a son, Cole, 21.

Paul Oravitz was an avid supporter of youth soccer in Plum. He was involved with the Plum Area Youth Soccer club while Cole and Taylor played, and remained active long after. He was most recently its treasurer.

“Paul helped out with youth soccer. His daughter played soccer all the way through high school,” said Rafal Kolankowski, Plum High School boys soccer coach. “Every year we had the Kickoff Classic, he was always there.”

Paul Oravitz was “a people person” who was always there for people and the kids, said Fred Lucas, president of the youth soccer club since 1995.

“The world just lost one of the best creations God ever made,” Lucas said. “I don’t know anybody better than him, and I’ve met a lot of people in my lifetime.

“We will soldier on because of him, because he set the template to follow in how you deal with youth, organizations and people in general. That will be our legacy for him, to follow in the template he set.”

A GoFundMe fundraising effort for the Oravitz family can be found here.

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the explosion. Authorities have said they are aware that there were issues with a hot water tank in the basement of the Oravitz home.