State police say the exterior propane tanks did not explode, while the origin and cause inquiry continued after the deaths of seven family members.
LAMAR TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police are investigating whether a propane leak inside a home caused the explosion and fast-moving fire that killed Sarah B. Stoltzfus and her six children Sunday morning in Clinton County.
State police said the family’s home at 797 Long Run Road was the site of a reported explosion and structure fire with entrapment at about 8:30 a.m. The investigation matters now because authorities have offered only a preliminary explanation for one of the deadliest residential fire scenes in the area in recent memory. The fire moved so quickly that first responders could not search for victims on arrival, and investigators are still working to determine the exact origin and cause while death investigations continue.
According to a state police public information release, multiple Clinton County fire departments were dispatched to the property at approximately 0830 hours Sunday. When crews got there, they confirmed that seven occupants were trapped inside. The structure was already fully involved, police said, leaving firefighters with no ability to search for victims. All seven occupants died in the explosion and fire. Authorities later identified them as Sarah B. Stoltzfus, 34, and six children: an 11-year-old boy, a 10-year-old boy, an 8-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a 3-year-old boy. Reports from neighbors added detail to that timeline. People living nearby said they heard an explosion, then another, before flames overtook the house.
The most specific public statement so far concerns propane. State police said a propane leak within the interior of the residence is a possible cause of the explosion and fire. At the same time, investigators made a point of narrowing what they do not believe happened. In the same release, they said the exterior propane tanks did not explode and were not contributing factors. That distinction suggests investigators are focusing on conditions inside the house rather than on tanks outside the structure, though police have not publicly described what evidence led them to that preliminary view. They also have not said where inside the home the suspected leak may have started, whether appliances or lines showed signs of failure, or whether any mechanical issue had been reported before the blast.
The known timeline remains short but stark. Emergency dispatches went out at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The house was engulfed by the time crews arrived. State police said the inability to enter the building meant the victims could not be reached. Neighbor accounts supported the official description of a sudden, violent event. One nearby resident told local television he was making breakfast when he heard the first explosion and called for 911 after stepping outside. Another said the blast was the kind of tragedy a community struggles to grasp. Those statements do not answer how the incident began, but they help show how little time separated the first sound of trouble from the total destruction of the home.
Investigators also have not released a final report, and several key facts remain unknown. Authorities have not said whether the explosion began in one room or spread from another point in the house. They have not said whether weather, ventilation, fuel equipment, cooking devices or heating systems played any role. No public finding has been issued on whether the fire started before the explosion or the explosion came first. Officials also have not provided a detailed reconstruction of the father’s movements before he returned home and found the house burning, beyond local reporting that he was away when it happened. Those unanswered questions are common in early fire investigations, especially where the structure is heavily damaged and evidence must be sorted carefully after the scene cools.
The investigative work is being led by Trooper Stephen Schramm of the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit in Montoursville, according to the public release. Police said the origin-and-cause inquiry is continuing along with death investigations. That means the current public explanation remains preliminary and subject to revision if later evidence points elsewhere. While that process continues, funeral arrangements have moved ahead in Mill Hall, and township officials have said they are planning road closures for Wednesday morning services. A benefit event for the surviving husband and father, David Stoltzfus, has also been announced by the Howard Fire Company. Those steps mark the divide between two tracks now unfolding at once: a formal investigation into how the fire began and a community effort to respond to what it left behind.
For now, the case stands at an early but closely watched stage. The seven deaths have been confirmed, the victims have been identified, the suspected role of an interior propane leak has been made public, and the next major developments are likely to come through investigators’ findings or any updated statements after the Wednesday funeral.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.