Watch CBS News

Moon Twp. Rocked By Explosion, House Leveled

MOON TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- An intense explosion shook a neighborhood in Moon Township Thursday afternoon, destroying a home.

The Convair Drive home was leveled after it exploded just before 4 p.m. Thursday.

"As soon as you hear an explosion you think of meth lab or gas," neighbor Glenn Wynn said.

Wynn lives across the street.

"I was making a sandwich in the kitchen and I heard an explosion. Shook the house. Dogs were howling, scared to death. I looked out the back, saw nothing, looked out the front window, the whole front of the house was gone. There was still a main structure, but the whole front of the house was gone and then you could see the flames starting to catch," Wynn said.

He took some video with his cell phone when the explosion first happened.

"There was a lot of people running around out here, people picking up their kids from the school bus, which is right here," Wynn said.

"There's nothing left of the house at all," Moon Township Fire Chief John Scott said.

Debris was all over the neighborhood.

Raw Video:

"Debris has been blown out probably 100 feet to 200 feet from the residence. The houses on either side experienced some minor damage, but they're all habitable right now," Chief Scott said.

The chief says the neighbors that live on either side weren't home when the explosion happened. The man who lives in the house was at work at the time, but his two dogs were inside.

Initially, it was believed that the dogs only suffered minor injuries. But Friday morning, it was reported that both had to be put down.

Peoples Gas provides service to the neighborhood. Crews were out all night, shutting off valves to surrounding homes.

"We don't know if this occurred outside the home or inside the home. All we are doing right now is assisting the fire marshal and proper authorities any way we can to get to the cause of this," Peoples Gas spokesperson Barry Kukovich said.

Officials say the homeowner never expressed any concerns with his gas line nor was there any work being done on gas lines in the area when the explosion happened.

The fire chief said they checked out the surrounding homes as a safety precaution to see if there were any gas leaks with the help of Peoples Gas and the Public Utilities Commission and haven't found any problems. People that live next door weren't allowed inside their homes until the lines were checked out. They're back inside their homes now.

Friends of the homeowner have started a GoFundMe for the man.

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.