1 dead in house fire, explosion in Edgewood

Neighbors were in shock Sunday morning after an explosion leveled an Edgewood house Saturday afternoon, leaving one person dead.

Emergency crews responded to the 300 block of Garland Street around 2:30 p.m. for a house fire stemming from the explosion, Allegheny County dispatchers said Saturday. Police said it was not a gas explosion that leveled the home and sparked the fire.

County police said the body of the male homeowner was recovered from the rubble.

“I heard a boom and my whole house shook,” neighbor Tara Klinedinst said. “I ran outside and I could see flames through the trees up the hill.”

Klinedinst moved into the neighborhood about two weeks ago.

Margaret Carter, who lives on Harlow Street, said she looked outside after hearing an explosion and saw the house collapse. After hearing a few more explosions, the home burst into flames that were as high as the roof of the neighboring house, she said.

“It was very upsetting,” Carter said.

While Carter said she did not know the family who lived there by name, she would say hello to them when she walked her dog.

“I knew him as much as you know a neighbor,” she said, adding that it was a friendly neighborhood. “He always just had a pleasant demeanor.”

According to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI, the homeowner’s daughter was supposed to get married at 4 p.m. Saturday. The news station also reported that initial findings suggest the homeowner intentionally set the fire.

County police have not released a cause of the blaze.

Safety concerns forced neighbors to evacuate their homes from about 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., Carter said. She spent the night at a friend’s house.