Here’s why first responders closed the Grove Plaza on Wednesday morning

The Grove Plaza was briefly closed Wednesday morning as firefighters, Hazmat crews and police responded to a call of a possible explosion at the Downtown Boise site.

According to a news release from the Boise Fire Department, an employee noticed a flash when he turned on a light in a vault room under the plaza that’s used to store hazardous materials. In a tweet, fire department spokeswoman Char Jackson said the call “is associated with chemicals used at the fountain on the Grove Plaza.”

A cap on a cylinder that holds chlorine tablets for the fountain failed, according to a Boise Fire tweet, which caused pressure resulting in the sudden release of gas.

Fire responders closed the plaza to foot traffic as the investigated the call, which came in around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“There were no injuries and the plaza reopened shortly after the incident,” Jackson wrote in the news release. “Boise Fire crews stayed on scene to monitor the air in the area, but nothing was found.”

A fire investigator remained on scene to try to determine the cause of the flash, but Jackson said there is no threat to public safety at this time.

This story was originally published May 15, 2019 at 10:52 AM.