Witness: 'You Could Hear The Gas Just Coming Out' Prior To Paterson Blast
PATERSON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- One New Jersey resident said an explosion that destroyed two homes in Paterson Tuesday morning sounded "like September 11."
"A big explosion and a lot of dust," he told CBS2's Ali Bauman. "I hope nobody got hurt."
PHOTOS: House Explosion In Paterson, NJ
It happened around 9:30 a.m. on Goshen Street near Main Street. Images from the scene show the homes completely destroyed as firefighters douse water on the rubble.
Ramon, a neighbor, was outside when he noticed the smell of gas coming from the home.
"When I come out, I smell gas, and then when I smelled the gas, I saw the lady down crying and called to me. I say 'what happened?' And she can't explain because she's nervous. I go and hear the gas and I told her to 'get out, get out of here' because it's dangerous."
"Then I take my phone and call my family, and called the first, second, third floors to get out from the house. And my daughter called 9-1-1."
Maria, a mother of two, called 9-1-1 after her father warned her of the gas leak.
"We were drinking coffee, and my father called to come out of the house -- there was a gas leak outside. So we took the kids out."
"You could smell it and you could hear the gas, the gas just coming out," she continued. "So I called 9-1-1 and we just stayed outside, called everybody we knew here to get out."
Maria said she stood outside near the for 15 minutes before the house exploded.
"Everything flew all over the house, all around," she said.
Luckily, Maria and her children were not hurt.
"We think it's God's grace that my father came out and that he saw what was happening and we all were able to leave, thanks for him telling us."
No injuries have been reported.
Stay with CBSNewYork.com as this story continues to develop.
