HILLSBORO, Ohio — Three people are dead after an explosion destroyed a business in Hillsboro, officials said Tuesday night.
Paint Creek Joint EMS & Fire said crews responded to Jimbo's Auto Repair on U.S. 62 for a reported explosion. Video and photos sent to WCPO show billowing smoke and flames above a leveled building in downtown Hillsboro.
Clint Moore was working outside a block from the explosion when he said it nearly knocked him off of his backloader.
"I was terrified," Moore said.
Moore said he tried to approach the building with several others to see what they could do to help, but something inside of the building continued to explode and the flames were too intense.
"Everyone was scrambling around the building, cars were burning up, it was pandemonium," he said. "It was a real war zone. It was unreal."
Paint Creek Fire Chief David Manning said their crews could feel the force of the explosion four blocks away at the firehouse.
"It definitely did rock and shake the area," Manning said.
#BREAKING: Fire Chief David Manning now tells us the three people missing in this explosion have all been found dead in the rubble.
— Sean DeLancey (@SeanDeLanceyTV) November 29, 2023
A fourth person was transported to the hospital.
Clint Moore was working nearby, and took this video right after it happened
LANGUAGE WARNING@WCPO https://t.co/G7hTJfWqOo pic.twitter.com/tu0hq0AJNh
Three bodies were recovered from the building and will be taken to the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. Those bodies have not yet been identified. One person was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital.
Larry Thompson is a long-time customer of Jimbo's.
"I've been going there for probably 20 years. They're great, great mechanics," Thompson said. "I'm sorry this all happened. It's unbelievable. it's devastating for them their families and everybody else."
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