ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Neighbors were left shaken after being woken up by an explosion at the Appliance Services Unlimited building.
"It shocked me. I didn't know what happened," said neighbor Mark Peter. "It just felt like a 747 fell out of the sky. "
The Elmira Heights Fire Department says they arrived around 1:30 Monday morning to a scene of flames at the local business on Lake Street.
"It was a big mushroom cloud when I got out here," said Peter, "Oh, lots of fire and smoke."
Crews spent about an hour getting the fire under control and say no nearby homes or businesses were damaged. As for the building, there is severe damage in the rear where the explosion occured.
Meanwhile, neighbors say just a day ago, they called in a potential gas leak.
"You could smell gas out here," said Peter. "They came yesterday and checked it out and then last night, boom."
Store owner Dan Godfrey says he has been running the business since he was 17 years old, and that the whole situation is shocking. But at the end of the day, he's thankful no one was hurt.
Neighbors shared that same sentiment.
"Lucky to be alive," said Peter. "It could've leveled the whole block, probably."
Investigators are still looking into what sparked the explosion.