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<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTHE ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ONE OF THE FAMILIES WHO LOST LOVED ONES IN THAT AUGUST 2023 EXPLOSION, WALKING ME THROUGH A LIST OF ALLEGED FAILURES THAT HE SAYS HAPPENED LEADING UP TO THAT EXPLOSION. WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT THERE WAS PIPING INFRASTRUCTURE CLOSE TO THE ORBIT\u2019S HOME. WE KNOW THAT ON THOSE PIPELINES THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT LEAK, A LEAK THAT MEASURED IN EXCESS OF 2.5IN. WE KNOW THAT THE PRESSURE ON THE LINE WITH THE LEAK HAD CONTINUED TO INCREASE IN THE MONTHS AND WEEKS AND DAYS LEADING UP TO THE EXPLOSION. WE KNOW THAT GAS WAS MIGRATING FROM THE LEAK, AND THAT THE ORBIT\u2019S HOME WAS FULL. THE BASEMENT SPECIFICALLY WAS FULL OF GAS AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION. THE LAWSUIT ALLEGES GAS LEAKED INTO THE PROPERTY OF HEATHER AND PAUL HOROVITZ FOR DAYS, WEEKS OR MONTHS LEADING UP TO THE EXPLOSION AND INTO THE BASEMENT, WHERE THE FAMILY\u2019S WATER HEATER, ALLEGEDLY MADE BY DEFENDANT A.O. SMITH WATER HEATERS, WAS STORED. THE LAWSUIT CLAIMS NOISE COMING FROM THE WATER HEATER. THE MORNING OF AUGUST 12TH IS WHY FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS MICHAEL THOMAS, KEVIN SEBUNYA AND CASEY AND KEEGAN CLONTZ WERE AT THE HOME DESPITE THE GAS BEING TURNED OFF, THE LAWSUIT SAYS. THE NOISES CONTINUED. IT CLAIMS A.O. SMITH WATER HEATERS WITH THIS MESSAGING INFORMS CUSTOMERS THE NOISES INDICATE PROPER FUNCTIONING AND FAILS TO WARN THEM. THE NOISES CAN BE TRIGGERED BY EXTERNAL FUEL SOURCES. WE\u2019VE NOT YET HEARD BACK FROM A.O. SMITH. WATER HEATERS, BUT PINNACLE OIL COMPANY, SHARING THIS STATEMENT TONIGHT SAYING, QUOTE, WE HAVE NOT BEEN SERVED WITH A COMPLAINT, NOR HAVE WE REVIEWED IT YET. HOWEVER, PENTECO DENIES ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS UNFORTUNATE TRAGEDY. THE LAWSUIT LISTS SEVERAL OTHER DEFENDANTS AS WELL AS PEOPLES GAS. YOU CAN READ THEIR RESPONSE ON THIS STORY ON OUR A\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Families of Rustic Ridge explosion victims sue companies for wrongful death, negligence<\/p>\n
Six people died in 2023 house explosion in Plum, Allegheny County<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 9:03 PM EDT Jul 22, 2025\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tFamily members of the six people killed in a house explosion nearly two years ago in Plum, Allegheny County, have filed lawsuits against multiple companies.On Aug. 12, 2023, an explosion in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood claimed the lives of six people, including a child. The victims:Casey Clontz, 38Keegan Clontz, 12Heather Oravitz, 51Paul Oravitz, 56Kevin Sebunia, 55Michael Thomas, 57The lawsuit alleges negligence and wrongful death against multiple companies. According to the plaintiffs, a pipeline leak caused one of the homes to be filled with flammable gas. It alleges a failure to vent an over-pressurized gas line led to the disaster, destroying three homes in the neighborhood and damaging dozens more. Attorney Ben Baer, who represents the children of Heather and Paul Oravitz, talked to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Tuesday. \u201cThese are people that have suffered an unimaginable tragedy. My clients are a young brother and sister in their early twenties that have lost their mother and father,” Baer said.The lawsuit alleges an over-pressurized line of Penneco Oil Company had a leak of more than two and a half inches and was leaking 156 cubic feet of gas per hour before the explosion.Penneco Oil Company chief operations officer Ben Wallace shared this statement: “We have not been served with a complaint nor have we reviewed it yet, however Penneco denies any responsibility for this unfortunate tragedy.”\u201cWe know that the pressure on the line with the leak had continued to increase in the months and weeks and days leading up to the explosion. We know that gas was migrating from the leak and that the Oravitz home was full. The basement specifically was full of gas at the time of the explosion,” Baer said.The basement is where the Oravitz family\u2019s water heater, allegedly made by the defendant A.O. Smith Water Heaters, was stored.The lawsuit claims a noise coming from the water heater the morning of Aug. 12 is why friends and neighbors Michael Thomas, Kevin Sebunia, and Casey and Keegan Clontz went to the Oravitz home.Despite the gas being turned off, the lawsuit says the noises continued. It claims A.O. Smith Water Heaters informs customers that the noises indicate proper functioning and fails to warn them that the noises can be triggered by external fuel sources.The lawsuits list several other defendants, including Peoples Gas, which it alleges failed to repair a failing regulator and take responsible actions to prevent the explosion.\u201cWhen this event occurred, Peoples immediately worked with the authorities to assist in the investigation to determine what happened. It is important to note that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission conducted an extensive investigation, and at the conclusion of the investigation found no evidence linking Peoples\u2019 public utility infrastructure to the cause of the incident,” Peoples Gas said in a statement. We\u2019ll continue to update this story as we hear back from additional defendants. Download the WTAE app to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news in your inbox.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tPLUM, Pa. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Family members of the six people killed in a house explosion nearly two years ago in Plum, Allegheny County, have filed lawsuits against multiple companies.<\/p>\n On Aug. 12, 2023, an explosion in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood claimed the lives of six people, including a child. <\/p>\n The victims:<\/p>\n The lawsuit alleges negligence and wrongful death against multiple companies. According to the plaintiffs, a pipeline leak caused one of the homes to be filled with flammable gas. <\/p>\n It alleges a failure to vent an over-pressurized gas line led to the disaster, destroying three homes in the neighborhood and damaging dozens more. <\/p>\n Attorney Ben Baer, who represents the children of Heather and Paul Oravitz, talked to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on Tuesday. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are people that have suffered an unimaginable tragedy. My clients are a young brother and sister in their early twenties that have lost their mother and father,” Baer said.<\/p>\n The lawsuit alleges an over-pressurized line of Penneco Oil Company had a leak of more than two and a half inches and was leaking 156 cubic feet of gas per hour before the explosion.<\/p>\n Penneco Oil Company chief operations officer Ben Wallace shared this statement: “We have not been served with a complaint nor have we reviewed it yet, however Penneco denies any responsibility for this unfortunate tragedy.”<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that the pressure on the line with the leak had continued to increase in the months and weeks and days leading up to the explosion. We know that gas was migrating from the leak and that the Oravitz home was full. The basement specifically was full of gas at the time of the explosion,” Baer said.<\/p>\n The basement is where the Oravitz family\u2019s water heater, allegedly made by the defendant A.O. Smith Water Heaters, was stored.<\/p>\n The lawsuit claims a noise coming from the water heater the morning of Aug. 12 is why friends and neighbors Michael Thomas, Kevin Sebunia, and Casey and Keegan Clontz went to the Oravitz home.<\/p>\n Despite the gas being turned off, the lawsuit says the noises continued. It claims A.O. Smith Water Heaters informs customers that the noises indicate proper functioning and fails to warn them that the noises can be triggered by external fuel sources.<\/p>\n The lawsuits list several other defendants, including Peoples Gas, which it alleges failed to repair a failing regulator and take responsible actions to prevent the explosion.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen this event occurred, Peoples immediately worked with the authorities to assist in the investigation to determine what happened. It is important to note that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission conducted an extensive investigation, and at the conclusion of the investigation found no evidence linking Peoples\u2019 public utility infrastructure to the cause of the incident,” Peoples Gas said in a statement. <\/p>\n We\u2019ll continue to update this story as we hear back from additional defendants. <\/p>\n Download the WTAE app<\/a> to stay connected with breaking news. Sign up for our email newsletters<\/a> to get breaking news in your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE ATTORNEY REPRESENTING ONE OF THE FAMILIES WHO LOST LOVED ONES IN THAT AUGUST 2023 EXPLOSION, WALKING ME…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[25558,25559,4,450,25544,3426,25561,3006,451,25545,2976,25557,25546,25547,2932,7921,25555,3,25556,25548,25552,25549,3590,25553,24869,25551,25550,25560,452,453,25554],"class_list":["post-30271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-55michael-thomas","tag-56kevin-sebunia","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-casey-clontz","tag-company","tag-families","tag-family","tag-headlines","tag-heather-oravitz","tag-home","tag-house-explosion","tag-keegan-clontz","tag-kevin-sebunia","tag-lawsuit","tag-michael-thomas","tag-negligence","tag-news","tag-oravitz","tag-paul-oravitz","tag-penneco-oil-company","tag-pennsylvania-house-explosion","tag-people","tag-peoples-gas","tag-plum","tag-plum-explosion-victims","tag-rustic-ridge-explosion","tag-rustic-ridge-explosion-victim","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-wrongful-death"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}