Explosion destroys Morgan Township home
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Jefferson firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a Bowser Road home in Morgan Township exploded Wednesday morning, injuring a couple and their young son.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Firefighters look over the remnants of a Morgan Township home that exploded Wednesday morning.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A Waynesburg-Franklin Township firefighter looks over the remnants of a Morgan Township home that exploded Wednesday morning.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A Jefferson firefighter looks over the remnants of a Morgan Township that exploded Wednesday morning.
CLARKSVILLE – A Greene County couple and their 4-year-old son were injured Wednesday when a house in Morgan Township exploded because of a suspected natural gas leak.
A second nearby house was evacuated as a precaution as Peoples Natural Gas of Pittsburgh and others investigated the source of the methane leak, company spokesman Barry Kukovich said Wednesday night.
“There are a number of gas sources, a number of wells and lines coming from wells,” Kukovich said. “Each source has its own fingerprint.”
Jefferson fire Chief Joe Petek said when his crews arrived in the 100 block of Bowser Road shortly after 11 a.m., the family was out of the house and at a neighbor’s house.
“Thank God, or we would have been pulling bodies out of there,” Petek said. “The grace of God got them out.”
Jeanne Robinson, who works at the Observer-Reporter, identified the man as her nephew, Cody White, and his son, James. Petek identified the mother as Samantha Adamson. They were flown by medical helicopters to the burn center at UPMC-Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh.
“I would say they’re serious burns,” Petek said. “Only time will tell how bad things are with burns.”
Petek said when White “turned the gas stove on, the house blew up.”
The explosion leveled the two-story house. Firefighters found it engulfed in flames when they arrived.
Kukovich said there was speculation the gas leaked from a coal mine.
Peoples was working with the state police fire marshal’s office and other companies to identify the source of the leak, and crews would remain at the site through the night, Kukovich said.
Investigators were checking pressure in gas lines and “a number of gas sources.”
“They definitely were one of our customers,” he said.
Petek said they had to call in multiple water tanker trucks because of the distance from the home to the nearest hydrant. Waynesburg-Franklin firefighters assisted Jefferson firefighters, along with EMS Southwest medics.
Staff writer Scott Beveridge contributed to this story.