What to Know
-
A house in New Jersey is a 'total loss' after officials say an explosion completely leveled it late Tuesday [hhmc]
-
The house exploded on Grumm Road in Hardyston right across from Wallkill Valley Regional High School; the school will be closed Wednesday[hhmc]
-
Nobody was home at the time the house blew up and no injures were reported[hhmc]
Officials say a house is a "total loss" after it exploded in New Jersey late Tuesday, and witnesses on social media claim it rocked much of North Jersey, with some saying they felt the boom as far as 20 miles away.
The house exploded around 11 p.m. in Hardyston on Grumm Road, right across the street from Wallkill Valley Regional High School, the Hardyston Township Volunteer Fire Dept. said on its Facebook page. Nobody was home at the time the house blew up and no injuries were reported, according to the fire department.
Officials said the house is a "total loss" and that the high school sustained structural damage and would be closed on Wednesday. A neighboring home was also damaged.
Update: (possibly) vacant house exploded in Hamburg/Hardyston. We have fiberglass on our street 2 miles away
— Dan Schenker (@heydanschenker) November 28, 2018
@NBCNewYork@JaniceHuff4ny House explosion in Hardyston, NJ. Heard the boom all the way here in Rockaway NJ
— Margaret Miller (@Marg_Miller) November 28, 2018
The explosion was so powerful it was felt miles away, witnesses on social media claim. One Twitter user tweeted she felt it all the way in Rockaway, a roughly 20 mile trip from Hardyston. Another user tweeted he had fiberglass on his street in Hamburg two miles away.
Photos: Majestic 2018 Rock Center Christmas Tree Is Cut Down
South Jersey Industries confirms it was not a natural gas leak, but the explosion was heard and felt right away.
“I live in Franklin and it actually felt like it was right next door,” one witness said at the scene.
The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
[contf] [contfnew] 
USA Today
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
