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People near a fire Monday afternoon at a commercial building in Nashua, New Hampshire, said the explosion was very loud and led the ground to shake.Fire officials said about 40 people were working in the Greater Nashua Mental Health building at 440 Amherst St. when the gas leak was first reported at about 2:15 p.m. Fire Chief Steve Buxton said Monday afternoon that four people were still unaccounted for, but Mayor Jim Donchess later told sister station WMUR that he believed everyone had been contacted. Buxton said investigators were still working through a list of patients who were seen Monday, so they could all be accounted for, but he noted that workers had evacuated the building once they smelled gas.Video above: 3 firefighters expected to recover after explosion, fire in NashuaOne of the firefighters suffered serious injuries, but officials said none of the injuries were considered to be life-threatening.William Closs was working in the area when he felt the rumbling.”Real loud. It shook a lot,” Closs said. An emergency alert was issued in New Hampshire about a potential gas leak after the fire and explosion.The emergency alert urged anyone in the area of the building to extinguish burners or other flames and prepare to evacuate. People were told to stay away from the area.When he saw the emergency alert on his phone, Closs said he was already in the process of trying to evacuate the building he was in. “We were trying to figure out how to get people out, as it was the building right next to us,” Closs said.First responders assisted in the evacuation.”They were quick, efficient, thorough,” Closs said.Closs said he left the scene to walk down the road to meet friends and family, leaving his car at the scene. “Again, I didn’t know that if a roof had collapsed, or what was going on, but as soon as we saw the building next door was on fire, we were like, ‘What do we do now? Here we go,'” Closs said.>> Meanwhile, witness Peter Hernandez joined sister station WMUR live to describe what he saw:
People near a fire Monday afternoon at a commercial building in Nashua, New Hampshire, said the explosion was very loud and led the ground to shake.
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Fire officials said about 40 people were working in the Greater Nashua Mental Health building at 440 Amherst St. when the gas leak was first reported at about 2:15 p.m. Fire Chief Steve Buxton said Monday afternoon that four people were still unaccounted for, but Mayor Jim Donchess later told sister station WMUR that he believed everyone had been contacted. Buxton said investigators were still working through a list of patients who were seen Monday, so they could all be accounted for, but he noted that workers had evacuated the building once they smelled gas.
Video above: 3 firefighters expected to recover after explosion, fire in Nashua
One of the firefighters suffered serious injuries, but officials said none of the injuries were considered to be life-threatening.
William Closs was working in the area when he felt the rumbling.
“Real loud. It shook a lot,” Closs said.
An emergency alert was issued in New Hampshire about a potential gas leak after the fire and explosion.
The emergency alert urged anyone in the area of the building to extinguish burners or other flames and prepare to evacuate. People were told to stay away from the area.
When he saw the emergency alert on his phone, Closs said he was already in the process of trying to evacuate the building he was in.
“We were trying to figure out how to get people out, as it was the building right next to us,” Closs said.
First responders assisted in the evacuation.
“They were quick, efficient, thorough,” Closs said.
Closs said he left the scene to walk down the road to meet friends and family, leaving his car at the scene.
“Again, I didn’t know that if a roof had collapsed, or what was going on, but as soon as we saw the building next door was on fire, we were like, ‘What do we do now? Here we go,'” Closs said.
>> Meanwhile, witness Peter Hernandez joined sister station WMUR live to describe what he saw:
