Hardyston, NJ – HARDYSTON An explosion Tuesday night leveled a home on Grumm Road and was heard and felt as far away as Vernon, Sparta, Jefferson and Roxbury, according to witnesses and authorities.
There were no injuries, said Hardyston Fire Official Bill Walsh, who was at the scene early today. The family that lives in the two-story home was away on vacation, he said.
The home is across the street from Wallkill Valley Regional High School, and debris from the blast cracked windows at the school, Walsh said.
Police and emergency responders from multiple towns were at the scene, along with Saint Clare’s paramedics and representatives from Elizabethtown Gas, Eastern Propane and CenturyLink.
Hardyston Fire Chief Anthony Ceglia said although an investigation is ongoing, it is believed the explosion was caused by a propane tank.
Miranda Hnyda, of Franklin, an EMT with the Wallkill Valley First Aid Squad, was sitting outside at home when she heard the explosion and came to the scene to see if she was needed.
Walsh said responders were called around 10:50 p.m. for a report of a bulding explosion on Grumm Road. When they arrived on the scene the house was completely gone and there was a hole in the ground where it had stood, he said.
Sheetrock is in the trees and insulation is scattered all over the Wallkill Valley High School parking lot, he said.
Wallkill Valley Regional High School will be closed today, as will Grumm Road, Walsh said. Police will be on scene all night, he said.