MOUNT COBB, Pa. — A pile of rubble is all that's left of a home along Mount Cobb Road in Jefferson Township after an explosion Tuesday afternoon.
The blast left 75-year-old Diane Gruss dead and another man fighting for his life.
Newswatch 16 learned Wednesday morning that Leon Gruss, 91, has died.
Gruss had been flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedarcrest Tuesday and treated for severe burns.
"There was a guy, we know, still alive at the time, but then flames shot up like 15 feet. So we backed off, and that's when people first started getting here," said Jim Nielsen, neighbor.
Jim Nielsen lives just three homes away from the scene on Mount Cobb Road; he jumped into action just moments after the explosion, "Ran next door, the gals over there, their kids, they're right over here, they called 911. I had some people doing construction on my house, so we ran over there," he said.
But there wasn't much neighbors could do; the home was completely destroyed; debris and keepsakes scattered everywhere.
Even a scorched car.
It took multiple crews, including volunteers from Jefferson Township Fire Department, to search through the rubble.
"You never have enough people. It takes one to two guys pulling the hose line; you need another guy pumping the truck; you have a guy trapped in the house that you got to get out," said Asst. Chief Jason Crambo, Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Company.
Fire crews were able to pull a man from that rubble. He was airlifted to the hospital.
Diane Gruss was killed in the explosion.
While investigators say a propane leak from within the home caused the explosion, they are still working to determine what ignited the deadly blast in Jefferson Township.