A 5.9 earthquake that led to the evacuation of the Pentagon was felt Tuesday afternoon in the state Capitol.
Reporters who sit near the windows in the Capitol press room felt the vibration, along with state employees on the third floor.
The quake prompted the water in the water cooler to slosh around in the Capitol press room - as seen by veteran reporters.
Soon after the reports of the earthquake, there was a fire reported in the Capitol - leading to the evacuation of the historic building at 2:05 p.m. An alarm sounded, and an announced boomed over the loud speakers that said, "There has been a fire reported in the building.''
Top state officials, including Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and her state police security detail, were evacuated from the building. But Wyman, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney of New Haven and Republican state auditor Bob Ward all said they did not feel the earthquake.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who was headed down to his hometown of Stamford for an announcement regarding UBS, participated in a conference call at 2:30 p.m. with his commissioners. He was briefed by Peter Boynton, the deputy commissioner of the state's homeland security operations, on a call that lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. There had been no reports of injuries or damage at that time, said Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy's senior adviser.
But during the conference call, there was a report of minor damage in the parking garage and a broken window on an upper floor at 25 Sigourney Street - a major office building in Hartford that serves as the office for hundreds of state employees in the state tax department, homeland security and the Department of Social Services.
The structure was evacuated at 25 Sigourney Street, but Boynton said he did not know if all the employees had returned inside. The building inspector and fire marshal were on their way to the building.
"I was in that building. I could feel my chair moving as I was sitting in it,'' Boynton said during a conference call with reporters at about 3:30 p.m. to provide the latest updates.
