Witnesses reported hearing an explosion coming from the candy factory, then saw flames shortly after.
"It was the loudest thing I've ever heard in my life," she said. "It literally felt like the ground fell out from underneath you. The whole house shook and my dogs froze, they couldn't move, it was scary."
No one was evacuated as a result of the explosion. West Reading's mayor, a firefighter herself, was on the scene and asked that anyone within a one-block radius stay away from the area. The damage is extensive. Officials say RM Palmer Building #2 is destroyed and there's damage at the neighboring Palmer building #1."I didn't know, I just come running out and saw that mess over there. I think it was a gas explosion the way it sounded," said Garry Witmoyer from Wyomissing. "It was very scary, the building filled with smoke from just the explosion."
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