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At approximately 10:30 pm, Durham Police and Firefighters reopened Brightleaf Square's main street to traffic and pedestrians.
It had been closed since the deadly explosion of Wednesday morning.
The Durham Public Works sent Street Street sweepers to pick up the last bursts of broken glass that were blown out by the blast. And nocturnal revelers seemed to be walking happily to the favorite places.
The crews have returned home for the night, but will continue their search, recovery and clean-up efforts on Friday morning.
It was a more sober note earlier on Thursday. At a press conference, Durham Fire Chief Robert Zoldos said that firefighters wounded in the Durham blast continued to help the victims despite their own injuries.
"Many of them were saving even after being injured, lacerated, etc. after the blast," said Zoldos. "We are therefore extremely proud of the excellent work of the Fire Fighters of Durham Fire Department and, once again, they continued to work even after their involvement; 39; explosion. "
Fire officials said at least 15 buildings had been damaged in the gas explosion that killed one person and injured 25 others on the same day that the city of Bull celebrated its 150th anniversary.
The explosion occurred shortly after 10:00 am at 115 North Duke Street, in a building housing Prescient Co Inc. and Kaffeinate.
"Eight to ten people were in the cafe and, without the incredible work of our firefighters to get them out immediately, they would also have perished inside the building," Zoldos said. "It's not as dramatic as shooting someone from the fire, but the results are exactly the same."
One person failed to exit the building before it exploded. Durham officials identified him as 61-year-old Kong Lee, owner of Kaffeinate coffee. He died in the blast.
MORE: Photos of the deadly day in downtown Durham
Durham Mayor Steve Schewel spoke at a press conference Wednesday afternoon, describing the explosion and the fire that would ensue from "terrible tragedy".
"I feel a real sense of loss and grief," he said. "It's a very difficult day that way, but I also feel something else and it's an immense feeling of gratitude.I saw firefighters with their pipes … fighting this fire without to know if there was another gas explosion. "
LISTENING: The camera on the deck heard the sound of Durham's explosion
Authorities said the blast was caused by a contractor hired by communications infrastructure company Crown Castle, who had hit a gas pipeline.
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This contractor received the required permits before starting work, according to North Carolina Executive Director 811 Louis Panzer. Panzer said that an investigation into what was happening would take place.
"Fibertech Networks, owned by Crown Castle, hired a contractor who was installing fiber in the area prior to the incident," Area President Cathy Piche said in a statement. "We have offered all our support and cooperation to the City of Durham officials and we are committed to working with the Mayor's Office to help the community recover."
What we know about victims
– Kong Lee, 61 years old, deceased
– 25 wounded
– 5 taken in ambulance at Duke Regional Hospital
– 5 at Duke University Hospital (2 reviews, 2 serious, 1 in good condition)
– 1 transferred from Duke University Hospital to the UNC Fire Management Center
– 9 injured Durham firefighters; 6 were on the way to the explosion
– 1 Durham firefighter, Darren Wheeler, seriously injured; He is out of surgery and is recovering from his injuries
– 1 Dominion Energy employee injured
Search and rescue efforts continued Thursday, but officials said they did not believe that anyone was trapped. They said all the people reported inside the building had been found and that the first scrap analyzes Wednesday did not indicate that anyone was trapped.
Several employees at Duke University were injured by shards of glass, the university announced.
"Many of Duke's colleagues responded quickly and admirably to getting help for their injured colleagues," said Kyle Cavanaugh, Duke's vice president of administration and emergency coordinator. "The coordinated efforts of Durham officials, Duke Police and the Duke University Health System have been exceptional in addressing immediate needs and mitigating the impact additional."
Search and rescue efforts
A search and rescue operation consisting of a special 35-member task force was deployed to the blast site shortly after firefighting.
In total, five buildings were involved. Rescue teams will use cameras, K-9 officers and larger machines to search these buildings over the next few days.
WATCH: Durham community mobilizes after deadly explosion
Officials will send notices to residents and business owners informing them of when they will be able to return to the area to recover property during the search and cleanup.
Officials from Durham said Wednesday night that the West Village -Toms Building was not livable. Residents who require a place to stay can visit Dominion Energy's processing operations center located at Maverick's Smokehouse & Taproom (900 W. Main St.) to get a hotel reservation voucher. The complaints center is open until 23 hours. It will reopen Thursday at 8 o'clock.
What we know about the explosion
A gas leak was first reported to the Durham authorities around 9:30 am On arrival, the first responders requested police assistance and began evacuating the building.
During the evacuation efforts, an explosion occurred at 10:07 and affected five buildings.
Witnesses told ABC11 that they had smelled gas in the area before the blast.
"I've never seen anything like it before," said Robin Jarvi. "I was sitting at the fire … and I smelled of gasoline.There were people in the building.I saw a business owner put a sign saying: "Business is closed for the day because of a gasoline leak." As soon as I passed through the fire, the whole building exploded. "
Dominion Energy said it cut the gas flow around 11:10 am.
"All you see, it's just a cloud of rising smoke, then you see the building slowly collapsing and people scatter," Tim Pulliam, Tyler Headrick, a construction worker, said. building working on the roof of a nearby church.
Brittany Bell, meteorologist at ABC11, has detected the smoke from the explosion on Doppler First Alert. She said the wind blowing in the area was blowing smoke southwest to Chapel Hill.
The Durham School of the Arts is located a few blocks down the street. No students were injured in the explosion, but classes were withdrawn early and canceled for Thursday.
"Our students and staff are safe at school and there were no injuries," Durham Public Schools said in a statement posted on Twitter.
The building where the explosion occurred, 115 North Duke St., is historically known as the "Studebaker Building". Built in 1920, the building housed a car dealership and then a car parts store. According to Open Durham, the building was later part of a complex of restaurants before being transformed into several offices.
Prescient Company has rented space from 2017. They are not the owners. It belongs to a West Coast real estate company called 2050 Bentley LLC. Kaffeinate Cafes and Main Street Clinical Associates are also located in the same building.
Duke University announced that most buildings in downtown Durham would be open Thursday, but that the buildings closest to the blast site would likely remain closed.
"Duke is awaiting permission from the city regarding the buildings that have been affected or are closed today and will coordinate communications with the affected units once the decision regarding access to these buildings has been made. Plans are underway to secure temporary spaces needed for damaged buildings or will be inaccessible in the near future, "said a Duke spokesman. "Decisions on site status, temporary relocation or reassignment of persons working in closed buildings will be made by appropriate school or department management teams and employees should contact their supervisors for details, if applicable. . "
Some people in downtown Durham reported having murky or brown water. The city said that this was happening because of the additional demand imposed on the system by first responders in the region.
Gas leaks
PSNC Energy offers the following tips for signs of natural gas leaks:
Internal leaks:
- A smell that smells like rotten eggs
- Unusual noises from gas equipment
External leaks:
- Dirt or debris blowing in the air
- Persistent bubbles of wet areas on the ground
- Vegetation / weeds near the pipeline appear discolored or dead
If you smell natural gas or notice these signs, leave immediately. Do not try to find the leak. Do not turn on or off the electrical switches. Do not use phones.
Once outside and at a safe distance, dial 911 or (877) 766-2427
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