Three people were killed when a fiery explosion rocked an auto shop in Hillsboro, Ohio, on Tuesday.

The explosion happened at Jimbo’s Auto Shop around 4 p.m., causing a fire that spread to an adjacent vacant building.

Four people were in Jimbo’s at the time of the blast. The lone survivor is hospitalized in stable condition, Paint Creek Joint EMS & Fire District Chief David Manning told WLWT-TV.

The identities of the deceased have not yet been released.

Witnesses described the chaos unleashed by the blast.

“Everyone was scrambling around the building, cars were burning up, it was pandemonium. It was a real war zone. It was unreal,” Clint Moore, who was working about a block away, told WCPO-TV.

Fire crews felt the shockwave from blast at their firehouse four blocks away, and arrived to see debris strewn all around.

“From what I felt at the firehouse and from what I’ve seen, I think that says a whole lot,” Chief Manning told the Wilmington News Journal.

The fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the explosion.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.