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All seven died. Police identified them as Sarah Stoltzfus, 34,
four sons, ages 11, 10, 5 and 3, and two daughters, ages 8 and
6.
An obituary posted online by a local funeral home identified
Stoltzfus as a member of the Old Order Amish Church community.
She is survived by her husband, David Stoltzfus, it said.
A police report issued earlier gave the spelling of her last
name as Stolzfus.
The cause is under investigation. A propane leak inside the home
may have caused the explosion and fire, police said, noting that
exterior propane tanks did not explode and were not contributing
factors for the explosion and fire.
Neighbor Christina Duck told WNEP-TV she was eating breakfast
when it began.
And I heard a boom and I could feel it and I got up and looked
out the window and I could see the flames through the windows
and I come running outside and within a minute the whole house
was completely engulfed, Duck said. The family moved in a
couple of months ago, Duck said, noting that she often saw the
children outside playing.
By the time firefighters got there, "there was no saving that
house, it went up so fast, she said.
WNEP-TV showed video of what it said was members of the Amish
community arriving at the scene to clean up and pay respects.
The Amish prioritize their deep Christian faith and family life,
eschewing many modern conveniences. They wear traditional
clothing and use horses and buggies for much of their
transportation. They often speak a German dialect known as
Pennsylvania Dutch.
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