Article originally appeared on nypost.com.
The home at the center of an explosion in Pennsylvania that left five people dead and damaged numerous other properties over the weekend had “hot water tank issues,” the Allegheny County fire marshal’s office has revealed.
In a statement Monday night, officials warned the public to stay away from the area in Plum, outside of Pittsburgh, as authorities are still trying to piece together what caused the destruction Saturday morning.
“The Fire Marshal’s Office can confirm that it is aware that the homeowners at 141 Rustic Ridge Drive were having hot water tank issues. The tank was located in the basement of the home,” the fire marshal’s office said.
Officials will now “investigate that information along with any and all other possibilities during their processes that may explain what occurred,” it added.
Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel said the town’s community development director, 51-year-old Heather Oravitz, and Plum Borough Manager Michael Thomas, 57, were killed in the blast along with three others who lived in the neighborhood: Kevin Sebunia, 55; Casey Clontz, 38; and Clontz’s 12-year-old son, Keegan.
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