Man in critical condition after Connellsville house explosion
A man is in critical condition after a house explosion Tuesday afternoon in Connellsville.
The man, who has not yet been identified, is believed to have been doing work inside the home at 317 S. Ninth St. when the explosion occurred, said Jeff Layton, fire chief for New Haven Hose Company.
Layton said the man escaped from the home and was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment. Authorities, meanwhile, have not yet said what caused the explosion.
Jay Urban was in his basement around noon Tuesday when he heard what he said sounded like a “loud bomb” go off outside.
“As soon as I heard the loud boom, I ran outside and saw smoke everywhere,” he said. “Then I heard a man screaming at the top of his lungs ‘Someone help me, someone help me’.”
Urban said by the time he got outside he could see the second floor of the home that sat just three doors down from him at 317 S. Ninth St. in Connellsville was “completely engulfed” in flames.
“As soon as I saw that, I immediately called 911,” he said. “I was surprised because the police and the fire company were able to make it out here very quickly.
When fire crews arrived they found the second and third floors of the home ablaze, Layton said.
Steve Mongell lives almost directly behind the house and said he ran outside when he heard the explosion and saw the house go up in flames starting with the second floor.
“I could see this black wall of smoke and the fire just moved so quickly between the two floors,” Mongell said.
Layton said the cause of the explosion remains under investigation.