“It sounded like thunder”: Worker near US Steel plant describes explosion
SKY 4, IS GETTING. HOLD HIM UP. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE’RE GOING TO GO NOW TO A PHONE INTERVIEW WITH PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER YASMINE RODRIGUEZ WITH SOMEBODY WHO WORKS VERY CLOSE TO THIS. LET’S LISTEN TO THIS PHONE INTERVIEW. TELL ME WHAT TIME IT HAPPENED, WHAT YOU FELT, WHAT WAS GOING ON. I WOULD GUESS IT WAS PROBABLY ABOUT 40 MINUTES AGO. TIME HAS FLOWN BY. FELT LIKE THUNDER, BUT IT IT LITERALLY SHOOK. WE’RE ON SCAFFOLD. SHOOK THE SCAFFOLD. SHOOK MY CHEST AND SHOOK THE BUILDING. AND THEN WE SAW THE DARK SMOKE COMING UP FROM THE STEEL MILL. DID YOU REALIZE IT WAS THE STEEL MILL AT THAT TIME? AND IT’S LIKE SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED. AND IN THAT MOMENT, DID YOU REALIZE IT WAS THE STEEL MILL? YEAH, YOU COULD SEE IT FROM 837 ON THE ROAD. KIND OF EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. THAT BLACK SMOKE. AND DID YOU SEE THE FIRE ACTUALLY BILLOWING? I DID NOT SEE ANY FIRE. I COULDN’T SEE THE TOPS OF THE FLAMES. ALL I SAW WAS THE BLACK SMOKE, WHICH HAS DISSIPATED NOW. I DON’T KNOW IF THEY HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL OR WHATNOT, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH SMOKE AS THERE WAS A HALF HOUR AGO. WHAT DOES THAT SCENE KIND OF LOOK LIKE NOW? EVERY FIRE DEPARTMENT WITHIN 15 MILES IS HERE. DID YOU SEE AMBULANCES? LOTS OF SIRENS. DID YOU PHYSICALLY HEAR AN EXPLOSION? OH, YEAH. IT SOUNDED LIKE THUNDER. WOW. HOW FAR IS YOUR WORK SITE FROM THE MILL? A HALF MILE TO A MILE. SO EVERYBODY ON YOUR SITE KIND OF FELT IT AND HEARD IT? YEAH. NOT EVEN A HALF MILE. WE’RE. WE’RE PRETTY CLOSE. I CAN HEAR THE THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS IN THE BACKGROUND OF YOU. WOW. HAVE YOU WORKED IN THIS AREA FOR A LONG TIME. WE’VE BEEN DOWN HERE FOR ABOUT ABOUT TWO WEEKS. WE’RE DOING A BRICK VENEER ON A BUILDING, AND JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE DOWN HERE WHILE IT WAS HAPPENING. ANY EVACUATIONS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN YOUR AREA? I WOULD I HONESTLY, I DON’T KNOW. I CAN’T SPEAK TO THAT. ARE YOU GUYS KIND OF JUST KIND OF HUNKERING DOWN IN THE MEANTIME? WE’RE CONTINUING TO WORK. BUT HOPEFULLY, I DON’T KNOW, MAYBE IT’LL BE AN EARLY QUIT DAY. I DON’T KNOW IS THEY’RE JUST WORRIED ABOUT THE GUYS DOWN THERE. YEAH. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE SCENE THAT YOU CAN KIND OF TELL US DESCRIBE WHAT’S GOING ON? BECAUSE WE’RE SEEING IT FROM THAT AERIAL VIEW, BUT YOU’RE KIND OF SEEING IT FIRSTHAND. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU CAN KIND OF TELL US THAT WOULD HELP? FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THERE WAS CONSTRUCTION GOING ON DOWN THERE. IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN BECAUSE OF THE NISSAN MERGER OR MERGER. I’M NOT SURE, BUT IT COULD BE DUE TO SOME FIGHT, SOME TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION. I REALLY I CAN’T SPEAK. FACTS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALL OPINION. CAN YOU STILL SEE THAT SMOKE THOUGH? RIGHT NOW? NO, NOT FROM WHERE I’M AT. IT’S KIND OF DISSIPATED ENOUGH THAT IT’S REALLY NOT THE SAME BILLOWIN
“It sounded like thunder”: Worker near US Steel plant describes explosion
Updated: 12:18 PM EDT Aug 11, 2025
The explosion at the US Steel Clairton Coke Works plant in Pennsylvania left multiple people injured and rocked the nearby area. Pittsburgh Action News 4 reporter Yazmin Rodriguez spoke with Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, who described the sound of the explosion like thunder. “It shook my chest. It shook the building, then we saw the dark smoke rising from the steel mill,” Buday said. “Put two and two together. It’s like something bad happened. Buday said you could see the smoke from Route 837. While he said he couldn’t see the fire, he did say there was heavy black smoke which has slowly dissipated. “Lots of ambulances, lots of sirens,” Buday said. “It sounded like thunder.” VIDEO FROM OVER THE US STEEL CLAIRTON PLANTMultiple injuries have been reported, though it is not confirmed how many or the extent of the injuries. For the full story, and the latest updates, click here.Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.
CLAIRTON, Pa. —
The explosion at the US Steel Clairton Coke Works plant in Pennsylvania left multiple people injured and rocked the nearby area.
Pittsburgh Action News 4 reporter Yazmin Rodriguez spoke with Zachary Buday, a construction worker near the scene, who described the sound of the explosion like thunder.
“It shook my chest. It shook the building, then we saw the dark smoke rising from the steel mill,” Buday said. “Put two and two together. It’s like something bad happened.
Buday said you could see the smoke from Route 837.
While he said he couldn’t see the fire, he did say there was heavy black smoke which has slowly dissipated.
“Lots of ambulances, lots of sirens,” Buday said. “It sounded like thunder.”
VIDEO FROM OVER THE US STEEL CLAIRTON PLANT
Multiple injuries have been reported, though it is not confirmed how many or the extent of the injuries.
For the full story, and the latest updates, click here.
Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.