Photo by Rebecca CooperD.C. Fire and EMS responded to a call about a possible explosion at Union Station at about 11:45 a.m. FEMS units are on scene investigating, but have yet to determine whether an explosion took place.
DCist reporter Rebecca Cooper is on the scene and said she can smell smoke outside the station, but that the area has not been evacuated. We’ll update as we learn more.
UPDATE 12:05 p.m.: So far fire officials say they have found no evidence of any explosion. There was some kind of plume of smoke and several people called in reports of a loud boom. Whatever happened, it doesn’t appear that any problem is happening inside the actual station. Dept. spokesperson Pete Piringer noted that there is a lot of construction in the area, though the source of the smoke and booming noise has not been determined.
12:15 p.m. Fire investigators say they determined the plume of smoke and booming noise was related to maintenance work on an emergency generator at 777 North Capitol Street NE, an office building that houses, among other things, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The work resulted in a backfire of the generator unit which caused the noise and smoke. No injuries and no fire resulted from the incident, which is now cleared.
