Results tagged “evacuation”

This week's steady rains appear to be to blame for a construction site in the 100 block of 15th Street SE being declared unstable this afternoon. Saturated ground there has caused the walls of a row of commercial buildings currently undergoing renovations to separate, according to D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer. Rescue crews responded to the scene at about 2:45 p.m., and made the call to evacuate the area, including several nearby commercial buildings at 112 and 115 15th Street SE, as well as 1500 Independence Ave. SE. No injuries have been reported.

The Health and Human Services building at 200 Independence Ave. SW was evacuated shortly after 10 a.m. this morning after a small electrical explosion occurred in the building. No injuries and no fire resulted from the explosion, which happened in a penthouse electrical room and affected a transformer connected to the building's A/C system, according to D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer. The building was reportedly evacuated as a precaution due to the possibility of a secondary explosion.

The AP reported that D.C. police are investigating a suspicious substance found near Gallaudet University, and that the Ballard North Hall dorm on campus has been evacuated as a result. The Post's Paul Duggan says both Ballard North and Ballard West have been evacuated, and the substance in question, six boxes of plant fertilizer and pesticide, plus a light bulb, was discovered in the duct work above an unoccupied room in the Ballard North building. Some reports describe the chemicals as "bomb-making materials", but Assistant D.C. Police Chief Patrick Burke told the Post there may be a less sinister reason the fertilizer was hidden there — police think it's possible that someone at the school was secretly growing marijuana.