House explodes, sends 5 people to the hospital

By Bryant Reed

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    PLUM, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — After a house exploded overnight in Plum Borough, a family was rushed to the hospital.

There were three adults and two children taken to the hospital from Hialeah Drive.

One person was lifeflighted out.

Fire officials say initially, the fire, which started around 11:30 p.m. last night, spread to homes left and right.

And despite the massive damage, the fire was handled pretty easily.

Neighbors say they saw a boy jump from a window of the house with broken glass and ash on his back.

Officials say despite everything, everybody is lucky to have made it out alive.

“Extremely lucky. Extremely lucky. When we first arrived on scene, we were here within five minutes of the initial dispatch,” Holiday Park Fire Department Chief James Sim said. “The house was fully involved. The roof was already caved in, the side walls were caving in. It’s amazing they survived this incident.”

The home is now in pieces, and its foundation has entirely collapsed.

The sight of the flames was shocking for neighbors.

“It was something I have never seen before,” Ron Jankowski, a neighbor, said. “The flames were as fast as you heard it. The flames rose pretty high. They were out of control; you can see the garage door in the street. That boom and the family was still in the house when the house was starting to go up.”

The Allegheny Fire Marshal is investigating a cause.

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