Hempfield family unhurt in what they describe as explosion that sounded 'like a gunshot'

A Hempfield home was damaged Wednesday morning after an incident that its occupants described as sounding “like a gunshot,” according to homeowner David Elliott.

Firefighters were called to Cree Drive in the township’s Fort Allen neighborhood around 8 a.m. and found the home’s windows had been pushed out of their frames. Deputy Fire Chief John Storey said everyone inside, along with a dog and cat, escaped without injuries.

The cause of the incident is under investigation, he said. Firefighters extinguished a small fire in the basement.

Crews from Peoples Gas were on scene monitoring natural gas levels in the residential neighborhood.

“There is no danger for anyone in the community,” Storey said.

Elliott was not home at the time but said his son, daughter, grandchild and the father of his daughter’s child felt what they described as an explosion. Glass shattered and the front windows were obviously damaged with curtains hanging out of them.

“They just said it was an explosion, there was black smoke,” he said.

All five were displaced. Storey said they were being assisted by the American Red Cross.

Jamie Shaw, the township’s director of code and safety, said the property was being posted as unsafe for human occupancy. Insurance engineers will have to determine if the house is inhabitable, he said.

“We don’t know if there is any structural damage,” he said.

The neighborhood is off Route 136 and Fosterville Road, not far from Hempfield Area High School. Hempfield firefighters, who were assisted by their counterparts in Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg and South Greensburg, were on scene for about an hour.