Allentown Explosion

Five dead after Allentown, Pa. blast

Five people - including a 4-month-old boy - have died in Allentown's massive gas explosion and fire, authorities confirmed at a Thursday afternoon news conferece.

Search crews have located four of the five victims and the recovery operation continues.

Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim declined to identify the dead whose bodies have been recovered, describing them only as a 79-year-old man, a 69-year-old woman, a 16-year-old girl and a 4-month old baby.

Grim said search dogs were being used to find the fifth victim. ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

William and Beatrice Hall dead after blast, family confirms

The elderly couple who lived at the site of the deadly gas explosion in Allentown has died, a family member confirmed this morning.

A blast demolished William and Beatrice Hall's 544 N. 13th St. home at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, setting six neighboring houses ablaze and injuring several neighbors. Several are still missing. More than 600 people from the surrounding city blocks and the Gross Towers senior apartment complex were evacuated last night. Many have since returned to their homes. ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

Red Cross Offering Assistance To Explosion Victims, Receiving Donations

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- The American Red Cross is taking the lead in helping people directly impacted by Wednesday night's fiery explosion in Allentown.

The agency said it still hasn't determined just how many people have been displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes.

The latest information provided by the Allentown Fire Department put the number of homes destroyed at eight. Those were all in the 500 block of North 13th Street.

More than 30 homes and 10 businesses in the surrounding area suffered some sort of damage. ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

Allentown Gas Explosion Destroys Eight Homes, Dr. Kermit Gosnell Case, and Sixers Fall to Dwight Howard and Magic

Gas Explosion in Allentown Destroys Row of Homes

Five people are still missing after a massive gas explosion in Allentown destroyed eight homes late last night. Flames were said to be shooting hundreds of feet in the air following the explosion. UGI workers came to the scene and were able to shut off a nearby gas leak at 4 A.M.. According to NBC Philadelphia one person is confirmed to be dead at this time. The explosion was so strong that it could be felt as far away as Bethlehem and Northhampton. ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

Allentown Explosion: Houston, We Have a Systemic Problem

That’s not to mention the weather-related natural gas problems in Texas that left hundreds of people in northern New Mexico without heat for six days last week.

If this isn’t an infrastructure problem, I don’t know what is. Bloomberg has more details:

The U.S. is crisscrossed with more than 2.5 million miles of fuel pipelines, or enough to circle the earth about 100 times….Much of the underground infrastructure in the U.S., which also includes water and sewer pipes, has been in use for more than 50 years and needs to be evaluated and, where needed, replaced, said Blaine Leonard, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

“Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s in bad shape, but the risk is certainly increased,” Leonard, a civil engineer in Utah, said. “There’s a lot of hidden infrastructure and we can’t be complacent about it. So much of our economy and quality of life depends on it.” ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

Allentown, PA: Pennsylvania Town Rocked By Explosion (VIDEO)

A natural gas explosion rocked the Eastern Pennsylvania city of Allentown last night, leveling two houses and leaving behind fires that burned throughout the night.

The city, located in Lehigh County, has a population of about 111,000. The explosion, which occurred in a mainly residential downtown section of Allentown, killed at least one person, according to the AP. Five other individuals remain unaccounted for. ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

Allentown Explosion

Allentown Explosion, (CP) – A natural gas explosion rocked a downtown area during the night, leveling two houses and spawning fires that burned for hours in an entire row of houses nearby. One person was killed and at least five others were missing Thursday. The victim was found in a townhouse with two floors in a residential area of downtown that has exploded on 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Police Chief Roger MacClean said.

A couple of 70 years lived in the house, but the condition of the body prevented positive identification, Fire Chief Robert Scheirer said. The cause of the explosion was unclear. The fire was extinguished early Thursday, delayed by the difficulty of digging through the layers of packed snow and ice to a fault line underground gas that fueled the flames, Scheirer said. Approximately 500 600 people who were evacuated were allowed to return home. ( Read Allentown Explosion more... )

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