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21 injured, 9 critically, in explosion at Baltimore BGE Building, US
At least 21 people were taken to area hospitals after an explosion at the Baltimore Gas &and Electric building in downtown Baltimore Wednesday morning, 23 December 2020. Eyewitnesses told WJZ they heard and felt a large explosion just before 8h30am. Then, they saw scaffolding fall from the building in the 100 block of West Fayette Street. The city’s fire fighters union said when crews arrived, they “were met with injured people on the ground, injured window washers clinging to their safety lines 12 storeys up and an active fire on the 16th floor of a high-rise building.” A total of 23 people were rescued from the building; 21 were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Two people refused treatment. Of those injured, nine are critical and one is in serious condition. None of those who were injured were BGE employees, the company said. The two contractors who were cleaning the building windows were left clinging to the remaining scaffolding on the Lexington Street side of the building for about 30 minutes. They were later rescued by the fire department’s special operations team, who broke a window on the 10th and 11th floor and pulled the men through. The building’s roof also partially collapsed; despite that, the building is still structurally sound, BGE said Wednesday evening. Crews will repair the damage to the roof and windows to prevent further damage from the weather.
“A construction related incident occurred at BGE’s offices at 2 Centre Plaza in downtown Baltimore. The incident appears to be related to construction work that was occurring on the building’s air handling and boiler system. The incident was not natural gas related. The building’s gas service was not active due to the construction work. 21 construction contractors were treated at area hospitals for non-life threatening injuries. No BGE employees were injured in the incident. The building was largely empty due to the upcoming holidays and remote work during the pandemic. Window washing scaffolding was compromised because of the incident and a window washing crew was pulled to safety by the fire department. Crews are working to further secure and then remove the scaffolding that was compromised as a result of the incident. The building has been inspected and is structurally sound, with repairs planned to secure the damage to the building roof and open windows from potential weather impacts. For any additional information on the people injured, please contact the Baltimore City Fire Department,” read the statement from Baltimore Gas and Electric. The investigation continues into the explosion. ATF Baltimore and the state’s fire marshal’s office are working with Baltimore city fire and police on the incident. Sources: CBS Baltimore |
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