ABSTRACT
It was shortly before 5 p.m. on a Friday, often a quiet news day. Most pieces of the 6 o’clock news had fallen into place, and the mood in the newsroom was low-key, relaxed. Several members of the staff were already debating whether to hold a post-newscast critique at the usual watering hole or try a new place up the street. Suddenly, a tremendous explosion downtown rattled our windows, even though we were more than two miles away. A boiler had exploded in a department store, sending glass and debris rocketing into the city’s main intersection; Five people were killed and more than 100 were injured.
