PENN HILLS, Pa. — A woman was killed in a Penn Hills house fire on Tuesday afternoon that officials suspect started due to a propane gas leak.
Firefighters were sent to the 300 block of College Street around 3:37 p.m. for the two-alarm fire and explosion, per Allegheny County 911 dispatchers.
Penn Hills Fire Marshal Chuck Miller initially told Channel 11 that they were looking for someone who was in the home when the fire started. Later in the night, our crew on scene saw a body being removed from the home. Miller then told us that an 84-year-old woman, who is the sister of the homeowner, was found dead in the basement.
Video neighbors shared with us showed flames and thick black smoke pouring from the home. Miller said the flames then spread to the house next door, melting some siding.
Miller’s running theory for the cause of the explosion is that the home’s propane system wasn’t up to code and the basement filled with gas, then two kerosene heaters ignited the gas. The two explosions and following fire collapsed the first floor into the basement and blew out a foundation wall.
One neighbor told us that he was inside his home when he heard two big bangs. By the time he got outside, the house was engulfed in flames.
“The first one woke me up. The second one I was awake for, but they were pretty loud,” Brandon Revino-Bennett said.
Miller says the second explosion was one of the 100-pound tanks in the back of the house.
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