Results tagged “explosions”

D.C. firefighters responded to an electrical explosion at 1801 K Street NW at around 11 a.m. this morning. It appears as though an electrical transformer on the penthouse level of the building malfunctioned and "basically exploded," said D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer.

Are you f**king crazy or something? When I pulled in to gas up last night, I thought you were participating in some type of hidden camera stunt for a new reality show. Smoking while filling up your SUV? Really? And not just one cigarette, but a second one, too? I don't much care that you're poisoning yourself. I'll even say that I'll support your right to smoke outside of your office building, even though the D.C. Council wants to make it illegal. But smoking while surrounded by thousands of gallons of a highly flammable liquid isn't a matter of personal liberty, unless you think that the Constitution allows you the right to level a full city block in a residential neighborhood. I don't think it does. I'd bet that even libertarians don't think so. And telling me that you've been pumping gas longer than I've been alive doesn't so much remedy the fact that you could have BLOWN US ALL UP. All you proved is that you're old and crazy. Sure, I would have loved to have a first-person narrative for DCist on what an exploding gas station looks like. Had I survived. But I wouldn't have. So that's that. For the sake of those of us who want to avoid being a casualty of someone looking to win the annual Darwin Award, please don't smoke while gassing up. Thanks. Sincerely, Martin.

The Embassy of Canada in Washington has canceled its plans to stage a series of Hollywood-style pyrotechnic explosions on the grounds of its compound on Pennsylvania Ave. next week.

We had to read through this article from Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail three times before we decided it wasn't necessarily an elaborate prank. According to reporter Paul Koring, it seems that during a two-day military conference set to convene at the Embassy of Canada in Washington Sept. 23-24, Canadian officials plan to stage a mock Afghan village in the courtyard of the embassy, in which they will set off a series of fake explosions. The pyrotechnical spectacle is apparently intended as a demonstration of Canadian military might, and especially their troops' activities in Afghanistan. The paper reports that American military officials, U.S. Congressmen and Afghan experts are expected to attend the conference. Here's what they'll be treated to:

The mock village, complete with a small souk and peopled by nearly a dozen Afghan actors, will be created in the courtyard of the Canadian embassy, halfway between the Capitol and the White House. A handful of Canadian soldiers and, Col. Martin hopes, U.S. Marines will arrive to "see the village leader" just as the IED blows up, "critically injuring" at least one Afghan, who will get immediate first aid from a Canadian medic.

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