An explosion rocked the community of Ellwood City, Lawrence County, in the early hours today, leveling a local brewery and leaving one building with significant damage. The incident, which occurred shortly after midnight at The Time Brewpub located inside a repurposed former school on the 600 block of Mount Vernon Drive, was powerful enough to shake neighboring homes and be heard from miles away.
Ellwood City Fire Chief Rick Meyers, who recounted the blast's impact on his own residence some two miles away, described his experience to WTAE, saying, "It was just a bang," and "everything shook in the house." The affected building housed several businesses, including a gym, tanning salon, and a barbershop alongside the decimated brewpub.
The nature of the explosion was such that while the Time Brewpub suffered destruction, the adjacent establishments appeared to have escaped direct harm. Nonetheless, Chief Meyers indicated that the structural integrity of the entire building is now compromised, bringing into question the immediate future of the other businesses previously cohabiting the space. No injuries have been reported in the aftermath of the blast, which some speculate to have been sparked by a gas leak, as WPXI detailed.
Emergency services, including Columbia Gas, the Ellwood City police, and the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, were called to investigate.
