A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of an explosion that destroyed a mobile home near Sutersville on Thursday night, a Sewickley Township fire official said.
The man who lived at the mobile home on Sutersville Road, in the village of Gratztown along the Youghiogheny River, was not home at the time of the blast and no one was injured, said John Vandyke, Lowber fire chief.
Firefighters received a report of the explosion at 7:20 p.m. The residence was engulfed in flames when they arrived, Vandyke said. The fire was brought under control in about 45 minutes, but firefighters remained on the scene until about 10:30 p.m., Vandyke said.
The resident of the mobile home was assisted by the American Red Cross, Vandyke said.
CSX, which owns the nearby tracks that carry trains between Pittsburgh and Connellsville, halted train traffic until about 9 p.m., upon the request it received at about 7:30 p.m. from the county Department of Public Safety, CSX spokeswoman Cindy Schild said in a statement.
Firefighters closed the Sutersville Road until about 10:30 p.m.
Lowber firefighters were assisted at the scene by units from Sutersville, West Newton, Herminie, Rillton, Hutchinson and tankers from Larimer, Mutual and Washington Township in Fayette County and North Irwin’s aerial truck.
