An explosion at a CSX facility in South Baltimore Thursday morning sent police and fire department officials scrambling to Curtis Bay and shook residents in neighborhoods across the city.
Firefighters were called to 1910 Benhill Ave. in Curtis Bay where an explosion occurred at the CSX Coal Plant Building, police spokeswoman Det. Chakia Fennoy said. Residents across the city reported on Twitter that the blast could be felt miles away.
No injuries were reported and no contractors were inside at the time of the explosion, fire department spokeswoman Blair Adams said.
Firefighters were on the scene monitoring for collapse, Adams said. The explosion resulted from the transport of coal, she said.
The coal was on a conveyor belt at the facility where coal dust buildup resulted in an explosion, Adams said. “There’s no impact or risk to the community,” Adams said.
Justin Helms, who lives near the Curtis Bay facility, was outside walking his dogs with his wife when the blast rocked his neighborhood.
Helms said he initially feared there had been a bombing. Puddles of water from the earlier rain shook from the force “like the T-Rex scene from Jurassic Park.”
”We just tried to brace ourselves looking around to see what happened while windows were busting out of houses,” he said. Helms said his house did not appear to be damaged, but several neighbors lost windows.
One of the more exciting times I had as a scientist was on a small boat collecting sediment in Baltimore Harbor when a paint plant nearby exploded, sending a cloud into the air, and loud instructions to evacuate the facility heard clearly over the water.
Coal dust explosions are a well known hazard of coal use on an industrial scale.
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