By Eileen Buckley
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-978446.mp3
Town of Niagara, NY – A home in Niagara County was leveled by an explosion earlier Wednesday afternoon. It happened in the town of Niagara in the 3200 block of Military Road.
Authorities no one was home at the time of the blast.
Two people were taken to Mount St. Mary's Hospital. A man driving by had a head injuries. Police say a woman at Betty's Boutique, located at 3223 Military, also suffered a medical emergency from the explosion.
Bill Smith works at Customer Covers and Canvas on Military Road. He is just three buildings away from the home. He told WBFO'S Eileen Buckley he heard a loud bang that lasted a few seconds and shook their entire building.
"It started off as a pretty loud bang, and then it continued to get louder. It lasted a few seconds. One of our employees here said that he thought a plane crashed nearby because it shook the building so hard," said Smith.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is underway. Firefighters expect to be on the scene all day to investigate.
"Everybody ran to the front and there's quite a bit of debris in the middle of the road there. The building next store caught on fire and continued to burn after the explosion," said Smith.
Employees at a nearby veterinary clinic tell WBFO News the explosion "felt like an earthquake".
A man driving a van on Military at the time of the blast had his vehicle windows blown out. He was shaken up, but not injured.
Military Road remained closed to traffic in both directions Wednesday night between Packard and Lockport Roads and will be in place for some time.