A family member confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that two of the dead in the house explosion in Plum were father and son, Casey Klontz, 38, and Keegan Klontz, 12. Our partner Trip confirmed that The Clonds family lives on. The explosion happened near a home in Plum on Brookside Drive. The family did not share with the Trip why Casey and Keegan were at the home, although they said Casey often visited neighbors. A family friend shared a statement from the family. Casey was a “soccer and gymnastics dad” who was often with his children, the statement said. Keegan was Casey’s “shadow” and they often went hunting and fishing together.”Keegan and Casey will be missed by many and will continue to be loved by many, including their family, friends and community,” the statement said. It gave an update on the explosion on Sunday afternoon. Watch in the video player above. Casey graduated from Gateway High School and was employed by People’s Gas Company. Keegan was a student in the Plum Borough School District and was preparing to start junior high school. Keegan will be 13 in January. Three other people killed in the blast are yet to be identified. DiVittorio started a GoFundMe to help raise money for the Clontz family. “This isn’t the first time this has happened in Plum,” neighbor Justin Newman said. “We need answers. We need to know why this is happening. It’s sad that people lost their lives and we don’t have answers. We need answers for these families, we need answers for this community.” It’s up to Allegheny to answer how this happened. Steve Imperlina, the county’s deputy chief for emergency services, expects it will take time. “There will be a lot of forensic testing, one way or another. The investigation could take months or years,” Imperlina said. Mike Huar, president of People’s Gas, said his crews were in the neighborhood within 15 minutes of the explosion. “We can share that our system works as designed,” Huaar said. Neighbors now focus on questions they can answer. “What can we do? That’s the biggest thing. Where can we go? How can we help, how can we support the victims?” Don Hadley said. Hadley co-owns Dad’s pub. He brought his father’s food truck to the Rural Ridge neighborhood on Sunday to serve free meals to neighbors. Deb Williams, owner of Kona Ice of Monroeville, brought her truck to the neighborhood as well. “Some families I know are not homeless. We’re trying to collect clothes. I know there’s a pregnant woman. Give birth. I know there’s kids who’ve lost everything, so anything we can give, we try to put together for them,” Newman said.
A family member confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that two of those killed in the house explosion in Plum were father and son, Casey Klontz, 38, and Keegan Klontz, 12.
Our associate Tripp confirmed that The Clonds family lives on Brookside Drive near the Plum house that exploded. The family did not share with the Trip why Casey and Keegan were at the home, although they said Casey often visited neighbors.
A family friend shared a statement from the family. Casey was a “soccer and gymnastics dad” who was often with his children, the statement said. Keegan was Casey’s “shadow” and they often went hunting and fishing.
“Keegan and Casey will be missed by many and will continue to be loved by many, including their family, friends and community,” the statement said.
Officials reported the explosion on Sunday afternoon. Watch in the video player above.
Casey graduated from Gateway High School and was employed by People’s Gas Company. Keegan was a student in the Plum Borough School District and was preparing to start junior high school. Keegan would have been 13 in January.
Three more people who died in the blast have not been identified.
DiVittorio started a GoFundMe To help raise money for the Clontz family.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened in Plum,” neighbor Justin Newman said. “We need answers. We need to know why this is happening. It’s sad that people lost their lives and we don’t have answers. We need answers for these families, we need answers for this community.”
Allegheny County Deputy Chief of Emergency Services Steve Imberlina expects the answer to how it happened will take time.
“There will be a lot of forensic tests to say anything one way or the other. This investigation could take months or years,” Imperlina said.
People’s Gas Chief Mike Huaar said his crew arrived at the neighborhood within 15 minutes of the explosion.
“We immediately checked for leaks, including gas underground and in the air. We checked the constant pressure at the tour control stations. At this point we can share that our system is working as designed,” Huaar said.
Neighbors now focus on questions they can answer.
“What can we do? That’s the biggest thing. Where can we go? How can we help, how can we support the victims?” Don Hadley said.
Hadley co-owns Dad’s pub. He brought his father’s food truck to the Rural Ridge neighborhood on Sunday to serve free meals to neighbors. Deb Williams, owner of Monroeville’s Kona Ice, brought her truck to the neighborhood as well.
“Some families I know are not homeless. We’re trying to collect clothes. I know a pregnant woman is about to have a baby. I know there are kids who have lost everything, so we can give anything. We’re going to try to put it together for them,” Newman said.
