Significant Damage from Underground LX Explosion at the Morristown & Township Library

New Jersey.com reports on the underground blast at the library that buckled concrete, shattered windows and blew out doors last evening.

The library was quickly evacuated by staff and no one was injured.
Jersey Central Power & Light has acknowledged a malfunction called a “cable fault” occurred beneath a manhole on Miller Road, near the library’s 1917 wing that sustained heavy damage. But spokesman Ron Morano said this damage “was not consistent with what one sees in a cable fault.”

He declined to elaborate. But he said the utility plans to tap outside experts for help with its investigation, which so far has been slowed because crews have not been allowed inside the library.

Susan Gulick, director of The Morristown and Morris Township Library, describes the severe damage to the library wing that dates back to 1917 which was caused by yesterday’s underground electrical explosion. She said the basement and ground floor sustained significant structural damage; the front doors were blown off and walls and floors buckled. The brunt of Monday’s blast hit the “Friends Room,” beneath the 1917 wing of the library. It’s where volunteers from the Friends of the Library store old books for sale. Additional updates on the blast here.