Smoking Electrical Box Prompts Evacuation Of Downtown High-Rise

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – There were some tense moments as a building in downtown Pittsburgh was evacuated Tuesday morning.

Firefighters, police and EMS responded to what was called in as a building fire at 525 William Penn Place.

While there was no actual fire, an electrical box tied to a generator started smoking. The smoke started filling up the basement.

Firefighters vented the smoke out of the basement.

Elevators were down during this time and people inside had to travel down several flights of stairs in order to get out.

"They said everybody leave, so I waled from the 26th floor," Andrea Regan said. "A lot of the stairways were dark. I had to turn my phone flashlight on because you couldn't see."

"We were in the building. There were some lights out in the stairwells and the elevator. We smelled, like wiring type smell in the stairwell," Bruce Mountjoy said.

Two people were taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. They are listed in good condition.

It is believed they suffered from shortness of breath as they were going down all the stairs to leave the high-rise building.

As of noon, the building remained closed.