LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — UPDATE (1 p.m.): A tower of flame continued burning Wednesday until about noon as emergency crews burned off excess propane from the site of the explosion.
Officials said the cause of the explosion was yet to be formally determined, but that a propane gas leak was a likely explanation.
When six workers entered the building on Wednesday morning, they saw that a heater had fallen from the ceiling and smelled propane. The crew immediately evacuated, just minutes before the building exploded.
Officials warned the area around the explosion site could be closed to public traffic for the rest of the week as the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal, structural engineers and insurance investigators assess the damage.
Financial damages are expected to be in the millions of dollars for just the destroyed municipal building.
"They structurally have lost their public works building, which houses all of their equipment, from road signs and shovels to payloaders and dump trucks," said Rapho Township emergency management coordinator Lori Shenk.
At least six houses were damaged in the blast, as well as the township's office building.
The next township board meeting, scheduled for Thursday evening, will be held at the East Fairview Church of the Brethren. Officials said they were working on a more permanent location to conduct township business.
Previously: Several residents have been evacuated and no one was injured after an explosion and fire at the Rapho Township Maintenance Building on Wednesday morning.
According to emergency dispatchers, investigators responded to a gas leak at the maintenance building along the 900 block of North Colebrook Road near Hossler Road in Rapho Township around 5:50 a.m. on July 5.
Officials say at 6:00 a.m., an explosion occurred and a fire began.
Neighbors reported hearing a big "boom" and a nearby house suffered damage consistent with a nearby explosion.
The American Red Cross of Greater Pa. says that they are assisting people who were evacuated due to the explosion. They are also supporting an evacuation center at East Fairview Church of the Brethren in Manheim.
The State Police Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, and officials are working to determine how much structural damage was done to the Rapho Township Maintenance Building.
Officials say they are expected to provide an update at a press conference at noon.
This is a developing story. FOX43 has a crew on the scene, and we will provide updates as they become available.