What Peter Troxell remembers most about the August day when a house exploded in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood is that it was hot.

As a fire police officer with the Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department, it was Troxell’s job to make sure the first responders who needed to get to the scene could and that spectators who didn’t need to be there were kept out.

For more than 10 hours Aug. 12, Troxell, 67, directed traffic so emergency personnel and equipment could get to where they were needed.

“My goal was to keep the water tankers moving,” he said. “I focused on doing the job so the road stayed open and they didn’t run out of water.”

Mayor Harry Schlegel singled out Troxell for special thanks as the borough gathered Monday to recognize all of the first responders who served at Rustic Ridge on a day when six residents, including two of its government leaders, lost their lives.

The ceremony was held at the amphitheater outside the borough’s municipal center on the road that is now Mike Thomas Way — named for the borough’s former manager who was among the victims along with Heather Oravitz, the borough’s director of community development.

Also killed were Oravitz’s husband, Paul Oravitz; father and son, Casey and Keegan Clontz; and Kevin Sebunia.

Honors were bestowed upon each of Plum’s four volunteer fire departments — Holiday Park, Logans Ferry, Renton and Unity — its police, emergency medical services and public works.

Amid chaos and destruction, they stepped forward without hesitation, borough council President Paul Dern said.

Dern said firefighters risked their lives to save others. They worked tirelessly to put out the fire.

Police maintained order and secured the area, medics provided care to those hurt in the blast or fighting the fire and public works crews secured the area and cleared debris so essential services could be restored and other responders could focus on their tasks.

“Plum remembers the victims and their families today, and we honor their memory by acknowledging the bravery of our first responders,” Dern said. “As we reflect on this incident, let us also recognize the resilience of our Plum community. Neighbors helping neighbors, strangers offering support and first responders working tirelessly to restore normalcy.

“Plum Borough stands united, bound by compassion and strength.”

State Reps. Brandon Markosek and Joe McAndrew, state Sen. Jim Brewster and Allegheny County Councilwoman Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis also recognized the first responders.

“We watched a community in the midst of tragedy come together,” McAndrew said. “This community came together in a way that’s quite remarkable.”

Brewster was represented by his chief of staff, Tim Joyce. A former Plum resident, Joyce said firefighters and medics responded to his home twice over 36 years. When in need, he said, the sense of relief felt upon hearing sirens is “unbelievable.”

He thanked them then, he said, and he thanked them again for Rustic Ridge.

“I can’t express our appreciation enough,” he said.

The borough’s emergency services responded as a group that day, Jim Sims, chief of Holiday Park and the borough’s emergency management coordinator, said during a council meeting after the event.

“I applaud the ‘we’ that responded that day,” he said. “It was a coordinated effort. It was all ‘we’ that day.”

Council Vice President Dave Seitz also recognized the more than two dozen first responders from neighboring communities who came into Plum that day.

They included firefighters from Allegheny Township, Brackenridge, Etna, Export, Lower Burrell, Monroeville, Murrysville, New Kensington, North Versailles, Oakmont, Penn Hills, Saltsburg, Slickville, Upper Burrell, Washington Township and Wilkins.

“We really appreciate all the efforts you gave that day,” Seitz said.

A member of Holiday Park for 10 years, Troxell has been an emergency medical technician most of his life and works as a computer security researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. His firefighting days are behind him.

When the Rustic Ridge call went out, Troxell said, he went straight there from his home, arriving while debris still was falling from the sky.

While saying this is the first time he has been recognized in this way, Troxell said he was embarrassed.

“I don’t seek it,” he said.

Besides remembering the heat, Troxell remembers how residents came to help first responders by bringing cases of water.

“I was amazed at the community support,” he said.

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