David Stoltzfus came home Sunday morning to find his house already in flames. Inside were his wife and their six children, and by the time the fire burned out, all seven were gone.
The blast tore through a single-family home in Clinton County’s Lamar Township, on Long Run Road, around 8:30 a.m. on April 19, 2026. Pennsylvania State Police identified the victims the following day, naming Sarah Stoltzfus, 34, and her six children, four sons aged 11, 10, 5 and 3 and two daughters aged 8 and 6.
Investigators suspect an internal propane leak, since the exterior propane tanks were intact. Neighbor Christina Duck was eating breakfast when she heard the boom, and within a minute the entire house was engulfed in flames.
A neighbor across the street was making breakfast when he heard the first blast. He told his wife to dial 911, and by the time he stepped outside, he heard a second explosion. He described the family as great neighbors and recalled a boy across the street shoveling his driveway last winter without being asked.
A man from the neighborhood who grew up nearby called it “unthinkable” and said it was the kind of thing that “would never happen in your own community.”
The family had moved into the home only a couple of months earlier. The Howard Fire Company in Centre County will run a benefit for the surviving father, offering 4,000 chances, with three people winning an Amish buggy ride for two. Gedon Funeral Homes is handling arrangements, with visitation at 409 Auction Road in Mill Hall ahead of a Wednesday morning funeral.
The township sits about 35 miles from State College, where state police are still leading the investigation into the exact cause.
Sources
- 'Unthinkable': Community mourns deaths of mother, 6 kids killed in Clinton County fire
- Mother and Six Kids TRAPPED — Engulfed Instantly | Daily Chive
