Two more homes remain at risk of demolition.
UPDATE: Phillipsburg explosion victim identified, in critical condition
The explosion that resulted in at least two Phillipsburg homes being torn down happened Saturday afternoon in the second-floor apartment at 76 Filmore St., town fire Chief Richard Hay said.
A cause of the blast has yet to be determined and the investigation is continuing, Hay said.
A structural engineer will inspect the adjacent 78-80 Filmore St. to see if those attached homes need to be torn down, Hay said.
The homes at 74-76 Filmore were torn down Sunday.
74-76 Filmore St. is gone Monday morning in Phillipsburg and 78-80 Filmore requires a structural engineer to determine is it can stay up, an official says. (Tim Wynkoop | lehighvalleylive.com contributror)
The person who was most severely injured was in the second-floor apartment at 76 Filmore St., Hay said.
That person had burns over 50 percent of his body and he was flown to the burn unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township, Mayor Stephen Ellis said.
Town police and the Warren County Prosecutor's Office on Sunday removed evidence from the home before it was demolished, Hay said. The Warren County fire marshal and specialists from Elizabethtown Gas' parent company in Atlanta also are part of the probe, Hay said.
When asked if a cause would be found, Hay said, "They'll be able to determine that."
At this point he can't say anything more precisely than the explosion began somewhere in the second-floor apartment at 76 Filmore St., he said.
Hay wasn't certain how long the investigation would take, especially with so many agencies involved.
While a small area to the front of 74-76 Filmore was accessible on Sunday, much of the investigation was done from next door looking down into the debris, Hay said.
"We had very, very limited access to what's left," he said.
Warren County fire Marshal Joe Lake said in such conditions, the work must be done carefully and slowly to not risk the lives of the investigators.
Blast investigations work best from the outside in, Lake said.
A key part of the investigation, considering the condition of the home, rests with witness interviews, Hay and Lake said. And with the most-seriously injured person not able to be interviewed, the probe could be slowed, Hay added.
But after hearing from witnesses if there were particular odors, for example, the investigation turns to the remains, Lake said.
What does it smell like? What's left? What does the damage say? Is there a gas line or appliance nearby? Is there a pit?
"Generally you can tell (what happened) by the type of damage created," Lake said.
There was natural gas service to apartments on both sides of the building, Hay said.
Firefighters heard reports at the scene that there was an odor of gas before the blast, Hay said. But the fire department can't confirm the claims, he said.
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Hay was one of the first to arrive and found very little fire. He said there certainly would have been a flash at the time of the explosion, but a "very small" amount of debris was left burning and that was quickly extinguished.
That's not an unusual scenario in an explosion, he said.
The lack of fire is a benefit to the investigation, Lake said. Fire destroys evidence, he said.
Lake, speaking generally, said the lack of fire could point toward natural gas, which doesn't leave a specific residue. A meth lab, for example, would result in different evidence such as beakers and other chemistry equipment as well as chemical residue from the various ingredients and a different odor, Lake said.
The blast shook the ground and knocked out power, Hay said, adding utilities have been restored on the block, except for the buildings at 74-76 and 78-80 Filmore.
When asked if ALG Resources' specialized investigators isolated a cause of the explosion, spokesman Duane Bourne said, "We are currently working with local authorities in their investigation of this incident." ALG is the parent company of Elizabethtown Gas.
Town police Chief James Faulborn said he expected more information to be released Monday afternoon. He said he can't say at the moment if the investigation uncovered anything criminal.
Homes hit by blast are torn down in Phillipsburg
In his 37 years with the town fire department, Hay can't recall a similar explosion.
"It was amazing no one was killed," he said. "It's very fortunate.
"If there's one positive to come out of this is that no one was killed to this point."
Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
