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BGE building explosion injures 21 in downtown Baltimore

BGE building explosion
City officials provide update on rescue efforts at BGE explosion
Posted at 9:18 AM, Dec 23, 2020
and last updated 2021-01-22 15:18:52-05

BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Fire officials are investigating a Wednesday morning explosion at the BGE office building downtown.

In total, 23 non BGE contractors were rescued from various parts of the building.

Fire officials say 21 of them were taken to the hospital. All but two have since been released.

Two people rescued happened to be window washers who became trapped high atop a scaffold on the side of the building. That scaffolding had to later be removed by a crane.

Severe damage was reported from the tenth floor of the building all the way up to the roof, which partially collapsed.

An initial inspection found the building to be structurally sound overall despite the explosion, according to BGE.

They say the explosion wasn't gas related and was likely caused by construction being done on the building’s air handling and boiler system. However, the ATF has joined city authorities to determine an official cause.

Southern Management which owns several buildings next door, tells WMAR-2 News that none of their residents, tenants, or team members were impacted by the explosion.