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TOLEDO (AP) -- Explosions rocked an Ohio industrial recycling business early Tuesday, killing two workers and sparking a large fire, officials said.
Flames and dark smoke poured from Brent Industries in Toledo as fire engines surrounded the building, TV news video showed.
Crews later discovered the bodies of two employees, a man and a woman, inside the smoldering building, said Toledo Fire Chief Allison Armstrong. Two or three other employees had minor injuries, she said.
Two explosions occurred shortly before 5 a.m., during a shift change, Armstrong said. Crews had to deal with hazardous materials, runoff and the threat of more explosions while first searching for victims and accounting for the other employees, she said.
Environmental officials said monitors showed that there was no hazardous threat in the air.
Demetrius Langston said he felt the explosion half a mile away. He ran outside with his phone and captured video of a huge plume of smoke rising into the dark sky.
"The shock waves came down the block," he said. "Then we all heard it again. Boom! You could feel it."
Armstrong said the fire was still burning Tuesday afternoon. She also said there were no preliminary indications of what caused the explosions.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it was investigating. The agency has six months to conduct its investigation and it won't release any more information until that's completed, officials said.
Authorities encouraged people near the site who could see or smell smoke to keep windows and doors closed and avoid the area.
Phone and email messages were left for Brent Industries.
The company, based in Brent, Alabama, offers textile reconditioning and industrial recycling services aimed at reducing waste and saving mon