UPDATE: ELDERLY RITCHIE MAN DIES IN EXPLOSION-FIRE - Frontier Fiber Optic Cable Destroyed, Internet/Phone Service Disrupted

(10/28/2013)

UPDATE - State Police have released the name of a Ritchie County man killed in an Oct. 21 explosion at his Pennsboro home. They say Robert Lee Holmes, 73, died as a result of an explosion. No foul play suspected. in Holmes' death, said Sgt. Boring. The State Fire Marshal's office believes that a natural gas leak caused the fire. ORIGINAL STORY 10/23 - A 73-year-old Ritchie County man died in an overnight explosion and fire in Ritchie County. A fire was reported about 10:30 p.m. Monday at two houses at East Miles Avenue in the Pennsboro area. Frontier Communication's copper and fiber lines were badly damaged in the explosion, resulting in an outage that impacted three counties, said Frontier spokesman Dan Page, reportedly including Calhoun. Repair crews were on scene throughout Tuesday. The body of the man killed in the explosion has been sent to the medical examiner's office in Charleston. The man, who authorities said used oxygen for breathing, reportedly was in one of the houses. State Police are not releasing any information about a potential cause of the blast at this time. The state fire marshal's office is investigating.

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