PUC Not Responsible For 2022 Plum House Explosion

PLUM, Pa. — (WPXI)-The Safety Division of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) finds public utility equipment didn’t cause a house explosion in Plum in 2022. The findings of this explosion were issued less than a month after another home exploded in Plum, killing six and damaging at least a dozen homes. The 2022 explosion happened at Hialeah Drive. Five people were hurt, one home was destroyed and several others damaged. In its investigation, PUC said pipeline safety engineers conducted many interviews, examined evidence and property records and monitored service restorations and repairs around the explosion site. PUC said the safety division “has not found any evidence” that public utility caused the explosion and found “no incitations of natural gas migrating through the soil around the incident site.” The focus of any further review of this incident involves the interior of the residence, which is outside the scope of the PUC’s jurisdiction and is subject to investigation by other agencies. This explosion is one of three in recent history in Plum. In addition to the 2023 explosion, there was one in 2008. That explosion happened along Mardi Gras Drive in Plum, killing a man and seriously injuring a 4-year-old girl. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated and discovered it was caused by a two-inch gas line that was damaged and then failed five years later after it corroded.