By: Taylor Weiter , Sean DeLancey
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
As the sun went down and temperatures dropped into the low 20s, Manning said the weather became a factor for the dozens of firefighters working on the scene.
Hillsboro city workers brought salt trucks to the area to salt the soaked roads to prevent them from freezing over.
“It’s definitely a challenge, but we try to do everything we can as safely as possible,” he said.
Three bodies were recovered from the building and will be taken to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. One person was treated at the scene and taken to the hospital
Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati.