Explosion in strip mall in Harrisonburg Virginia, 5 people reportedly injured

At least five people, including three students from James Ames Madison University, were injured in a fire explosion in the center of Varita, Harrisburg, on Saturday morning.

Harrisonburg city spokesman Mike Parks told The Washington Post that police received multiple reports Saturday at 8 a.m. Around 30, an explosion took place in a building a few miles west of Madison University.

Parks told CNN that three firefighters had set fire to at least two other commercial buildings in the city, about 54 miles northwest of Charlottesville.

Videos about the fire were quickly uploaded on Twitter by Josh Edmonds, a local resident, told CNN via Twitter that even while he was working miles away, “his whole building was shaken, some of my colleagues were shaking in their cars when the explosion happened.”

Harrisonburg VA fire and explosion appear to be contained now. Ugly scene, explosion heard and felt miles away pic.twitter.com/vs3r6BxHaH

— Josh Edmonds (@joshdedmonds) October 17, 2020

The two people were found injured and taken by helicopter to the University of Virginia Medical Center, and the Post reports that they are in stable condition on Saturday afternoon.

Officials at the James Ames Madison University in Parks confirmed to the Post that three college students who had been to a strip club for an event also had minor injuries after being hit by shrapnel.

One of the students was reportedly treated at the hospital, while the other two were treated and released at the scene.

Parks told the Post on Saturday afternoon that firefighters had found no evidence that anyone else was in the building at the time of the blast.