More fire alarms than usual went off across town Friday morning — but there were no fires.
Instead, there was an earthquake.
While the earthquake’s epicenter was in Lebanon, New Jersey at around 10:23 a.m., its tremors reverberated here in New Haven and across the Northeast. Luckily, there have been no reported damages in New Haven, according to city spokesperson Lenny Speiller.
Assistant Fire Chief Dan Coughlin also confirmed that there have been no reported damages, but he did say the station has reports of “slightly higher-than-normal activated fire alarms” across the city, which could be coincidental or due to a “jarring of the systems.” This sometimes happens during heavy thunderstorms.
While everything seems to be OK here in New Haven, the fire department’s only concern is the possibility of jostled pipes — which can lead to water or natural gas leaks. But so far, according to Coughlin, there have been no such reports.
An 11:17 a.m. mayoral alert sent to city residents stated that, despite there being no notable damages so far, “We are continuing to monitor the situation, but based on what we know, there is no need for any evacuations nor cause for further alarm. However, should you smell gas and suspect a gas leak, please do call 9 – 1‑1 to report it, so that our first responders can act accordingly.”
I remember the earthquake that hit in the 1980’s off Hammonasset beach while I was in high school. We thought it was a nuclear bomb or earthquake. (It was during the height of the Cold War.)
We also had a small one in the early 2000’s.
I'm hopeful there was no damage closer to the epicenter in NJ.