COLEBROOK – A 1:30 p.m. explosion at MDM Muzzleloader filled downtown Colebrook with smoke and debris and sent people fleeing, according to Karen Ladd, publisher of the News and Sentinel.
MDM, which came to Colebrook last fall, is located in the former Manchester Manufacturing building at the end of Bridge Street near the Vermont border.
Ladd said she heard a very loud boom.
"I'll be honest, I completely panicked and told everyone to get out of the building. It sounded like something hit the building," she said.
As soon as the News and Sentinel employees had evacuated, they saw a column of smoke at the end of Bridge Street, and soon learned the explosion was inside MDM Muzzleloader, which is full of ammunition and gunpowder, according to Ladd.
She witnessed people running up Bridge Street away from the building, which she heard may still have people inside. The entire front of the building is engulfed in smoke and debris was strewn everywhere, she said.
Fire crews from Colebrook and Beecher Falls, Vt., are on the scene fighting the fire. The 45th Parallel EMS has three ambulances standing by, she said.
It was unclear whether anyone was hurt in the fire and explosion at the MDM Muzzleloader plant, though radio traffic indicated two possible fatalities. A spokeswoman for the town says thick, black smoke filled the sky soon after 1 p.m., with a series of explosions that could be heard up to a mile and a half away.