Shaken residents were cleared to stay in their Delmont apartments after an apparent explosion damaged one of them, said police Chief T.J. Klobucar.
Eva Arraujo and Tyler Fissella said Friday morning that one of the many officials who responded to the strip of six apartments the previous day checked out their neighboring unit to make sure it wasn’t damaged in the apparent blast.
“It shook the entire house,” Arraujo said.
A man remains hospitalized after the apparent explosion at his Spring Lane apartment around 3:20 p.m. Thursday. Neighbors described a grisly scene at their doorsteps, seeing the man lying in the snow with burns after the blast.
One neighbor reported hearing two explosions. The garage door, sliding glass door and an upstairs window were boarded up Friday morning. All had been blown out. A restoration crew appeared to be working in the backyard.
Fire officials believe propane may have been the cause of the incident. A state police fire marshal is investigating. Klobucar said the resident was heating and cooking with propane and there was not a stove in the kitchen.
“There was quite a few propane tanks in the house, small and large,” he said.
It was unclear why the resident was using propane tanks meant for the outdoors for those purposes, but Klobucar said officials confirmed other apartment dwellers had appropriate utilities and appliances for heating and cooking. Authorities do not believe there was any foul play.
It was a chaotic scene as residents tended to the injured man until first responders arrived. Delmont police Capt. Joseph Calbrace and Officer Robert Jones were the first there.
They immediately got other residents evacuated while fire trucks started pulling in on the narrow, one-lane streets. The pair loaded the injured man into the back of a police vehicle and took him to meet a Mutual Aid ambulance, Klobucar said.
He was eventually flown by medical helicopter to West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. His identity was not released.
“I’m proud of my officers and all responding agencies,” Klobucar said. “I’d just like to thank them for their assistance.”
A neighbor who didn’t want to give her name said there were no known issues with the building’s heating system; she added that the landlord and a handyman are usually quick to address any repairs. The six-unit strip is owned by a Murrysville woman’s living trust.
She recalled bonding with the injured man over classic cars, as he kept his own in the garage there. He was known for taking good care of the vehicle, occasionally taking it for a drive with its engine rumbling through the small complex.