The co-owner of the home in western Pennsylvania that exploded over the weekend, along with his wife and four other people, has sadly gone away as a result of the injuries he incurred in the tragedy.
Paul Oravitz, 56 years old, passed away in a hospital in Pittsburgh from significant wounds four days after the explosion that occurred in Plum. This little community is located around 20 miles (almost 32 kilometers) away from Pittsburgh.
Officials have said that Oravitz and his wife, Heather, were having issues with their hot water tank, which may have led to the explosion that caused at least a dozen other people to suffer injuries. The explosion was responsible for the destruction of three buildings. Local law enforcement and the office of the Allegheny County Fire Marshal are in charge of leading the investigation at this point.
The explosion occurred early on Saturday morning, maybe about 10:30. Heather Oravitz, who was 51 years old, and Michael Thomas, who was 57 years old, both worked for the borough of Plum. Both of them, along with three residents, were killed in the explosion. Kevin Sebunia, who was 55 years old, Casey Clontz, who was 38, and Keegan Clontz, who was Clontz’s son. Keegan was 12 years old.
The property is on land that was once used for mining and is flanked on all sides by shallow oil and gas wells, both active and defunct. According to the report in the newspaper, there were two operating gas wells and a pipeline placed within a thousand feet (305 meters) of the house that blew up, but none of these facilities had been connected to the blast.
Michael Huwar, president of Peoples Gas, said that the company’s testing demonstrated that “our system was operating as designed.”
On Wednesday, a spokesperson of the company indicated that more system testing had been completed with the state Public Utility Commission and the office of the Fire Marshal, enabling for the restoration of gas service to begin. The official said that the organization would send technicians to the residences of customers in order to relight their appliances and do safety inspections.
According to a representative for the county who spoke out on Tuesday, all dwellings, with the exception of the loop where the explosion took place and two branch roads, have had their gas supply restored. As of Sunday afternoon, the power had been restored to all properties, with the exception of the three that had been damaged.
