BOSTON -- An early-morning chemical explosion in Danvers, Mass., that was heard as far away as New Hampshire and Maine leveled businesses and damaged homes early Wednesday, but no one was seriously injured in the blast, prompting Gov. Mitt Romney to call the incident a "Thanksgiving miracle."

Fire crews raced to the scene of the explosion at CAI Chemical Company at 126 Water St. in Danvers about 2:45 a.m., and emergency teams searched the area looking for injured people.

"It sounded like a big jet going over my house. So I woke up and my wife says, 'It sounds like a plane,' and I said, 'It is,' and I come downstairs and see my windows blown out and a massive explosion over the house, and I said, 'Let's get the kids and get out of here,'" resident Michael Crossley said.

"The miracle is you have the equivalent of a 2,000-pound bomb going off in a residential neighborhood at night when everybody is home, and no one's dead and no one is seriously injured," Romney said.

Danvers Fire Chief James Tutko said crews evacuated 10 injured people who were taken to Salem and Beverly hospitals. He said the "walking wounded" were "in good shape," and no one appeared to have suffered life-threatening injuries. Those who were injured had cuts, bruises and other minor injuries from debris and flying glass, according to hospital officials who said they had treated 11 people.

"We have secured all the buildings. No one has been found. We are confident there is no one in that area that has an injury or a problem," Tutko said shortly before 9 a.m.

Officials said the cause of the blast was under investigation. Tutko said the plan was to blanket the entire blast area with a foam that would smother and cool any hot spots. Once the scene was secured, he said, crews would begin excavating in an effort to find the source of the blaze.

"Everything right now is structural. From what we could see from the air, it didn't look like it was a flammable liquids fire. It was structural," Tutko said. "It looks like a war zone. It's devastating."

"It was a very violent explosion. Something went very bad very quick inside that building," state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said. "It's one of the more violent explosions I can think of in recent times."

He said officials have no reason to believe it was a suspicious fire, but the investigation into the cause is likely to take days. The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration was investigating, along with a host of other agencies.

Authorities said some 90 nearby homes were damaged by the explosion and an estimated 15 to 25 may eventually have to be torn down. They said an estimated 300 people were at home asleep in the area when the blast occurred. An explosives expert told Romney it was likely many people avoided getting hurt because they were lying down in bed and glass flew over them.

The fire was under control by shortly after 5 a.m., but fire crews let the chemicals burn off to lessen the amount of pollution runoff from the explosion.

Environmental officials said immediately following the blaze, there was bright purple water in the White River near the blast site, and state and federal crews were testing for both air and water pollution in the vicinity. Low levels of toluene, a solvent, were found.

"At this time, those preliminary results show no elevated levels for a broad spectrum of chemicals we're looking at," said Mike Nalipinski of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The company where the blast occurred manufactures water-based and solvent-based inks. The "CAI" in the company name stands for coatings, adhesives and inks. It was located in a Danversport industrial park off Route 35, near the Peabody town line. The company has a second location in Georgetown, Mass., and has fewer than 25 employees. It is privately-owned and operated by the Sartorelli family.

CAI issued a statement saying, "All of us at CAI are shocked and devastated by this accident. Our foremost concern is for the safety and well-being of our neighbors and employees. We are so grateful that no serious injuries or fatalities occurred and are doing everything we can to assist officials in determining the cause of the accident, which is unknown at this time."

Dozens of buildings and businesses near the company were damaged in the explosion and scores of boats at the nearby Liberty Marina were also damaged. Two businesses that were destroyed were the Danversport Bakery and a nearby pizza parlor, according to authorities. None of the employees working in the bakery at the time of the blast were seriously injured, fire crews said.

People who live near the scene said they were awakened by a loud blast that shook houses and rattled windows. Officials said the blast was felt miles away from the site and some people who live as far as 1.5 miles away were thrown out of their beds by the force of the explosion.

"It's just absolute chaos. Windows, buildings, wood ... concrete in the middle of the street. It's just a mess," said resident Richard Bolduc who lives nearby.

"It sounded like a huge rumble of thunder, and it shook the house. My daughter came running in. I thought it was thunder, and then I heard another explosion and I thought, 'That's not thunder,'" Bolduc added.

"It was amazing, the blast that happened. Actually lasted a couple of seconds," Jeff Vincola said. He was awakened by the sound and saw flames shooting hundreds of feet into the sky after a mushroom cloud shot into the air.

"I don't have any windows. My front door's been blown out," another resident said.

"I got out of there with my life, that's all," one man said.

Residents as far as 40 miles away in New Hampshire said they heard and felt the blast. Residents described it as sounding like a plane had crashed, a bomb had gone off or an earthquake had occurred. Others said chunks of concrete fell from the sky for some time after the blast.

The Danversport neighborhood was evacuated and residents were taken to Danvers High School where the Red Cross set up a temporary shelter. They said they were serving about 100 people about 8:45 a.m.

Authorities said all other Danvers schools were closed for the day. The New England Home for the Deaf across the river was also evacuated. Bishop Fenwick School in Peabody was also closed for the day.

Despite the evacuations, officials said there was little risk of toxic fumes presenting a hazard for people who live nearby.

"At this point in time, nothing has migrated outside the marina area or down to the swamp area," Tutko said.

Officials said Route 35 in Danvers was closed at Route 62, meaning that Route 114 was the only access into Salem and the surrounding area. Gardner, Pulaski, Water and High streets were also closed. Authorities advised motorists to use Lowell Street instead. The MBTA said all North Shore commuter rail services were running on time.

NewsCenter 5 and the Boston Channel will have details as they become available. Refresh this page for updates.