Authorities believe a homeowner ignited an explosion inside his Edgewood house in an apparent suicide, causing the structure to collapse Saturday afternoon, the day of his daughter’s wedding.
Police said the man’s body was found amid the rubble at 318 Garland St. late Saturday night. His identity has not been released.
Police and fire units arrived on the scene after a 911 call came in at 2:28 p.m. about the explosion.
Neighbors said the man who owns the home was standing in front of the house shortly before it exploded, Edgewood police Chief Robert Payne said.
“It’s my understanding that his family had a wedding today, and that most of the family was out of the house, but we have witnesses that indicate they saw him near the house just before the explosion,” Chief Payne said.
After the fire had been extinguished, heavy equipment was brought in to sift through the rubble as authorities searched for the man. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette news partner KDKA-TV reported that the man’s body was found late Saturday night and that police believe he intentionally set the explosion as a means to kill himself.
What is believed to be the homeowner’s cell phone was found resting on the outside of the windshield of his SUV, which was parked on the street nearby, “which is kind of odd, and so that troubles us,” Chief Payne said earlier in the day.
The Allegheny County homicide unit and fire marshal were on the scene to investigate during the day. Late in the evening, the county’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene to check out the vehicle and neighbors said they were told to evacuate at around 11 p.m. Officers gave the all clear at midnight and residents were allowed back in their homes.
Chief Payne said police had been called to the house multiple times previous to Saturday’s explosion. He declined to elaborate on the nature of the previous visits to the home.
The chief initially deemed the fire suspicious because there was “no reason for this particular house to go up. There’s no gas issues here. We’ve been here before, we know who this gentleman is, and I’ll leave it at that.”
The homeowner’s family could not be reached Saturday.
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