An explosion caused by a gas leak injured five people and left one person dead in downtown Tyrone on Monday. The explosion leveled a house, caused a fire that destroyed another house and damaged a third home, and led to evacuations as firefighters battled the blaze. The death was confirmed by the Blair County Coroner’s Office late Monday night. The gas leak and corresponding explosion were apparently associated with an ongoing water line replacement project.
As approximately 175 firefighters worked to contain the blaze on the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, the gas leakage continued, penetrating into sewer lines, leading to an evacuation of a four-square block area and the establishment of an evacuation center at Church of the Good Shepherd in town, with a secondary site at Tyrone Area High School.