Photos show aftermath of U.S. Steel Clairton plant explosions

Explosions at the U.S. Steel Clairton plant on Monday left two people dead and injured at least 10 people.

Allegheny County 911 began receiving calls about an explosion just before 11 a.m., starting a chain reaction that saw 14 fire departments and 20 EMS services respond to U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works, along with police. The plant, which sits along a bend in the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, was heavily damaged, and officials confirmed the second person had died on Monday night. 

Multiple secondary explosions were reported, authorities said, with Allegheny County adding that the secondary explosions did not cause any “major injuries.” One of the two people who died on Monday was identified by his family as Timothy Quinn. The second victim has not been identified as of Monday night. 

Crews are working to investigate the cause of the explosions. Sources told KDKA that the explosion occurred inside the reversing room for batteries 13 and 14.

The initial explosion was felt by residents in nearby communities, including Glassport. Deanna Forkey, who works near the plant, said all she could see out her window was “black smoke. It was very dark.”

“I was sitting in my home office, and I felt my house shake,” Glassport resident Sandy Lawson said. 

A time-lapse video from the Breath Project shows the aftermath of the explosions at the plant. The video shows a huge plume of black smoke above the plant.

A firefighter who was among the first group of emergency responders at the scene on Monday described it as “a bomb went off.”