One fatality has been confirmed and a total of 12 people have been treated by Graham Hospital for injuries.
At least one person was killed because of a natural-gas explosion Wednesday night in downtown Canton, authorities said.
The explosion took place just before 6 p.m. in a building along First Avenue, near the city square, according to Katie Lynn, a spokeswoman for the Fulton County Public Information Office. As of about 8 p.m., she did not know the building that was the source of the explosion.
Several buildings in the area were damaged, according to an ESDA news release. It also stated there was no report of injuries.
But Fulton County Coroner Steve Hines told GateHouse News Service one fatality had been confirmed.
Power was out along Locust Street north of the square. On the south edge, power was on and business owners were clearing the sidewalks of broken glass the explosion caused.
At 7 p.m., Ameren Illinois reported 541 power outages in the Canton area, according to utility spokesman Tucker Kennedy.
Downtown Canton was filled with police, firefighters, emergency-service crews and onlookers on a cool evening.
Richard Meyer, an optician at Bard Optical, 127 N. Main St., was working at the time of the blast.
“The lights went out, I heard a big boom and I felt pressure,” said Meyer, a Cuba resident. “The next thing you know, all the glass was broken. I didn’t smell anything.”
The Bard office manager, Jessica Boughan, was on her supper break down the block.
“We thought someone drove into the side of the building,” she said.
Bill Babb lives in a high-rise apartment building about three blocks north of the explosion site. He was watching television with his wife when an exterior flash lit up his apartment.
“I was in the military 10 years in field artillery,” Babb said. “It reminded me of a 200-pound round coming down within a half-mile of me.
“My first impression was it was a gas explosion. It was too loud for just a transformer.”
Kristie Stockholm of N’Style hair salon said it seemed as if the air had been sucked out of the building, then the lights went out, then there was an explosion. There were customers in the salon, but no one was hurt.
However, witnesses said they saw EMTs assisting people behind the building.
Witnesses also said the explosion was felt as far as Monterey, Fairview and Farmington.
The Salvation Army opened at 9 p.m. Wednesday for those displaced from the explosion. Alexander Lumber in Canton also opened its doors for those that needed lumber to board broken windows.
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