One year later, cause of Plum explosion still unsolved
One year after a series of explosions devastated a Plum neighborhood last year — killing a former Saxonburg borough manager and five other residents, leveling three houses, and damaging others — the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is still working to identify the cause of the explosion.
As Monday, Aug. 12, marked the one-year anniversary of the tragedy, the investigation is still ongoing and seemingly no closer to finding a reason than it was when it began.
In a news release issued by Allegheny County on Monday, the office told residents to be patient while it continued its work.
“This investigation has been extensive and thorough, and there is no time frame for when it will be complete,” it wrote. “As additional information becomes available, it will be released via news release after appropriate notifications have been made.”
One of the suspected causes of the explosion has already been crossed off the list. On Tuesday, July 16, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission announced that they had found no evidence that faulty public utility equipment had contributed to the explosion.
One of the lives lost was that of then-borough manager Michael Thomas, who previously served as borough manager of Saxonburg from April 2001 to October 2004 before taking up his new role in Plum in June 2005.
Thomas was in the home that exploded, which belonged to his next-door neighbor and colleague, Heather Oravitz, Plum’s director of planning and development. Oravitz and her husband Paul were also killed in the explosion.
