CHARLESTON, W.Va. — An explosion of a back-up rooftop generator created quite a stir in downtown Charleston Thursday afternoon.
The loud blast happened at a few minutes before 2 p.m. on top of the AT&T building on Lee Street. “I heard a loud explosion,” Melinda Manson, who runs a food stand close by said. “We turn around and we see a bunch of smoke and a bunch of debris coming off the building.”
Charleston Fire Department Captain David Hodges said the blast occurred while workers were trying to turn on the backup generator. He said the generator and mechanical room were damaged. There were no injuries and the building is structurally sound.
Hodges said when fire crews got there they heard a lot of the same thing.
“Many bystanders were reporting it was a very loud explosion and they all had the same consistent story that it was on the rooftop,” Hodges said.
Cate Poling works in the building next door. She was on a work-related call when it happened.
“My colleague was in the parking garage that’s like a block over from all building and she was on the same meeting that I was on and she heard it every bit as loud as I did,” Poling said.
Manson said she’s glad everyone is okay. She said it was scary at first.
“I said, ‘Ooh what was that,” and several other choice words,” she said. “My instant reaction was to look around and we looked up and saw a bunch of debris floating around.”
MetroNews Reporter Aaron Parker contributed to this story.