Propane blast in US kills 1, injures many

The blast was so powerful it blew a vehicle across an intersection and damaged nearby buildings. Paper, insulation and building debris rained on the area. The explosion shattered the two-story building that housed LEAP Inc., a nonprofit that serves people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, just a couple of months after it was finished.

Farmington (Maine): A propane explosion that leveled a newly constructed building after fire crews arrived to investigate the smell of gas morning, left a firefighter dead and several injured in Maine Monday.

The blast was so powerful it blew a vehicle across an intersection and damaged nearby buildings. Paper, insulation and building debris rained on the area.

Officials said an ambulance worker was treated and released, and at least five people were taken to regional trauma centers and remained hospitalized. Their conditions were not released.

The explosion shattered the two-story building that housed LEAP Inc., a nonprofit that serves people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, just a couple of months after it was finished.

Lisa Charles, an employee at LEAP, lives down the street from where the blast occurred and was home with her kids when the explosion happened.

She says she could see debris falling from the sky when she stepped outside, and that she feared the worst for her colleagues.

"I know everybody in there. I thought for sure everybody was gone," she said. "They got a warning from the maintenance guy who was a hero for telling them to evacuate."

The blast hit around 8:30 a.m. in Farmington, Maine, about 70 miles north of Portland.