Christian College Explosion – 7 injured

At least seven people were injured Tuesday after an explosion on a college campus north of New York City. Rockland Fire and Emergency Services coordinator Gordon Wren Jr. tells Fox News the explosion blew out windows and doors in a two-story building at Nyack College. Wren says seven people were injured in the blast, including one woman who fell from a window and was taken to the hospital. None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening. Some people were trapped after the explosion, but have since been freed.

The explosion at Nyack College happened just before noon. A spokesman for the Rockland County executive’s office says county fire departments are responding.
“There’s a lot of people hurt,” South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian said after arriving at the scene. “There’s a lot of people injured. We got ambulances up here galore.”
The college sent out a tweet saying that “Everyone is doing ok.” Authorities say there’s a gas leak at the building, but it’s unclear if it caused the explosion or if the explosion caused the leak. Witnesses told The Journal News that the smell of gas hung in the air.

Mayor Christian said the gas had been shut off, and an investigation was under way. Employees with Orange & Rockland Utilities were checking manholes and sewers for any gas leaks. The blast occurred in a building known as the Sky Island Lodge, which functions as both an administrative and classroom building for the Christian college, which is about 25 miles north of New York City.

The school’s graduation ceremonies had already been held, and summer classes hadn’t started, said David Jennings, executive vice president. “Thankfully, we were out of session,” he said. He said the one student injured in the blast had been there to take a test.
“Had it been last month, that would have been a real problem,” said Mayor Christian.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/04/injuries-reported-after-explosion-at-new-york-college/?test=latestnews#ixzz2VcBcxy8j