8 Injured in Nyack College Gas Explosion; Nyack Middle School Evacuated

NYACK, NY -- A gas explosion on the Nyack College campus in Nyack late Tuesday morning injured five college employees, two adult students and one law enforcement officer, authorities told Patch.

Initial reports had only seven injured, but a South Nyack-Grand View police officer who was near the building at the time of the explosion and stayed to help rescue those inside was later taken to the hospital with nausea and a headache. He was treated and released. 

Some of the injuries were a result of victims falling or being thrown from the force of the explosion, said Robert Van Cura with the Rockland County Sheriff's Department.

"The worst injury was a person who either jumped or was thrown from the (second story) window," said Brandon Smith, Deputy EMS Coordinator for the Rockland County Office of Emergency and Medical Services. 

"None of the injuries are life threatening," said Chief William Barbera with the Sheriff's Department.

The explosion occurred at the Highland Avenue Sky Island Lodge building on campus at around 11:48 a.m. The blast blew out several windows, Barbera said. According to Rockland County Director of Fire and Emergency Services Gordon Wren Jr., volunteers with the Nyack Fire Department were on the scene by 11:51 a.m. 

"There was a fire," Wren said. "This building had a sprinkler system and between the sprinkler system and the initial response, the fire was knocked down very quickly."

Authorities still do not know where in the two-story stone building the explosion originated, since the structure's interior is so heavily damaged. The cause remains unknown, and is under investigation by the county's B.C.I. unit.

"There are staircases pushed over to the side and columns inside the building are skewed," said Mike Donovan of Orange & Rockland. "Extensive structural damage is a better way to say it."

Bonnie Christian, South Nyack's mayor, said the injuries could have been far worse if the incident had occurred earlier this spring.

"We're just so thankful [college] was out," she said. "If this was a month ago, [the building] would have been fully staffed."

Gas levels remained steep and a natural gas odor prevalent for hours after the explosion, and authorities at first feared another blast could be possible, Van Cura said.

At one point, the gas level in the building was 70 percent—when it should have been next to nothing, said Donovan.

"We shut off the gas and we also shut off the electricity so there would be no secondary source of ignition," Donovan said. "Once we did that, the levels in the manholes and sewers went down."

According to Donovan, electricity was restored to all customers, including the college, by 4 p.m.

Rescue and emergency authorities from around Rockland responded to the incident; all the injured parties were transported to Nyack Hospital via ambulance. No helicopters were used.

"They are being tended to as we speak," Barbera told Patch shortly after the explosion.

One victim was wheeled away on a stretcher at about noon. A witness told Patch he also saw a woman "lying on the ground."

Lauren Malone, a spokeswoman with Nyack Hospital, said all seven victims were taken to the hospital's emergency department. The hospital also set up an emergency command system, Malone said, with an incident commander at the scene of the explosion.

Faith Elliot, a South Nyacker who was at Nyack Hospital for unrelated reasons Tuesday afternoon, said there was a constant flood of ambulances and calls, with a helicopter hovering overhead.

The entire Nyack College campus was not evacuated, but reporters and on-lookers were pushed back from the scene of the explosion. Sky Island Lodge houses both classrooms and offices, and was built in 1930, according to Nyack College's website.

Nyack Schools initially sent a note to parents saying Nyack Middle School would not be evacuated, but the district later bused students from the middle school to the high school on the advice of O&R.

"Parents are welcome to pick up their children at the High School at any time from the High School through the front entrance where they can sign their children out with the Middle School staff," wrote Nyack Schools superintendent James Montesano to parents. "Regularly scheduled buses will be made from the High School. All Middle School walkers will be returned to the entrance of Dickinson Avenue and will be dismissed from that drop off point."

Linzy Abramson, a Nyack College nursing student, was nearby when the explosion occurred. Abramson said she and others smelled the gas beforehand.

Nyack College senior Jeffrey Rodriguez said he heard the sound and went outside to investigate.

"I prayed that everyone would be well. Thankfully it was," Rodriguez said. "Nobody really got hurt. The school has done a great job taking care of everybody."

O&R was at the scene testing gas levels for hours after the explosion. Donovan said electricity was restored to the 260 customers in the area by 4 p.m., but as of 5 p.m., 30 gas customers were still affected.
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This story was written and reported by Ryan Buncher, Robin Traum and Kevin Zawacki.