OH MY GOD!!
1010 WINS) (Eatontown, NJ) The roof of a Petco building collapsed Friday after an explosion caused by workers who damaged a gas line outside, police said. Authorities say they rescued five people who were trapped in the store's rubble. All five people are reported to have critical injuires.
Police Capt. George Jackson told WABC-TV in New York that nobody had been killed in the explosion, which took place late Friday morning in this Monmouth County community.
Jackson said the five people who had been in the pet supplies store at the time of the blast were taken to a hospital.
A construction worker told store staff a gas line had been broken and employees had evacuated customers and were in the process of evacuating animals when the explosion occurred, said to Shawn M. Underwood, spokesman for San Diego-based Petco.
He said a female manager at the 10,000-square-foot store had been trapped in the basement after the explosion and used her cell phone to direct rescuers to her.
Store employee Alison Hazelet, 20, of Brick Township, said she was grooming a dog named Cuddles right before the explosion.
'The general manager came by and said, 'Get out!'' said Hazelet, who grabbed the dog and ran outside.
About 100 to 200 small animals and many more fish likely were inside the building, said Ursula Goetz, director of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is a few blocks away.
She said her agency had offered help to police and county officials and had vans and staff waiting in a parking lot across the street to remove animals from the destroyed building. The animals would be brought to the SPCA shelter or to local veterinary hospitals for medical treatment.
'As soon as we can have access, they will notify us,' said Goetz, noting that police had told SPCA workers to stay away.
She said the store has exotic birds, guinea pigs, ferrets, gerbils, mice and other small animals, as well as fish.
The Petco store had recently opened a grooming facility for larger animals, Goetz said.
Jackson said the explosion occurred after construction workers damaged an unmarked gas line outside the store, and then smelled the odor of gas.
Police Capt. George Jackson told WABC-TV in New York that nobody had been killed in the explosion, which took place late Friday morning in this Monmouth County community.
Jackson said the five people who had been in the pet supplies store at the time of the blast were taken to a hospital.
A construction worker told store staff a gas line had been broken and employees had evacuated customers and were in the process of evacuating animals when the explosion occurred, said to Shawn M. Underwood, spokesman for San Diego-based Petco.
He said a female manager at the 10,000-square-foot store had been trapped in the basement after the explosion and used her cell phone to direct rescuers to her.
Store employee Alison Hazelet, 20, of Brick Township, said she was grooming a dog named Cuddles right before the explosion.
'The general manager came by and said, 'Get out!'' said Hazelet, who grabbed the dog and ran outside.
About 100 to 200 small animals and many more fish likely were inside the building, said Ursula Goetz, director of the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which is a few blocks away.
She said her agency had offered help to police and county officials and had vans and staff waiting in a parking lot across the street to remove animals from the destroyed building. The animals would be brought to the SPCA shelter or to local veterinary hospitals for medical treatment.
'As soon as we can have access, they will notify us,' said Goetz, noting that police had told SPCA workers to stay away.
She said the store has exotic birds, guinea pigs, ferrets, gerbils, mice and other small animals, as well as fish.
The Petco store had recently opened a grooming facility for larger animals, Goetz said.
Jackson said the explosion occurred after construction workers damaged an unmarked gas line outside the store, and then smelled the odor of gas.
