Rescue Services Busy in Quake Wake

Fredericksburg Fire and Rescue services have responded to three reported gas leaks in the wake of today's earthquake, but found the areas safe. 

The Fredericksburg emergency communications center, which processes 911 calls, received more than 60 calls immediately after the quake, prompting officials to ask the public via social networking sites to refrain from calling in unless there was an emergency.

The city Public Works Department was dealing with a water main break in an apartment complex off of Lafayette Boulevard. 

The fire department is also cleaning up after knocking out a structure fire at 918 Cornell St. in Fredericksburg. It is not yet known if the earthquake caused the fire. 

"Anywhere from 12 to 20 buildings have been reported with various damage, from partial chimney collapse and other visible damage like bricks dislodged," said Natatia Bledsoe, public information officer for the Fredericksburg Police Department. "Nothing significant, nothing that appears to be close to collapse."

Rescue services are coordinating with Fredericksburg public works and building and development services to inspect the list of damaged structures. 

"Somebody is going to check on every single structure that we know of that has had some sort of earthquake-related damage," said Bledsoe. 

Bledsoe herself was at the Stafford County campus of the University of Mary Washington attending a day-long class on grant writing for regional law enforcement agencies. With large lighting fixtures hanging overhead, she and others in attendance feared that the fixtures would fall on them.

"A number of us had thought that maybe a bomb had gone off in another part of the building," said Bledsoe. "We were actually relieved to learn it was an earthquake."

After the tremors, the meeting resumed, but soon radios and cellphones, when working, called half of the present officers back to their jurisdictions to help with any rescue work and damage assessments.