MARCH 7, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC
The White House was put on lockdown Saturday morning after a
nearby food vendor cart suffered a small explosion from a propane tank, causing a security sweep
before President Barack Obama and his family were about to leave for
Selma, Alabama, according to a White House pool report.
Photos posted on Twitter from Will Sweet show heavy smoke
from one of the food locations in the 400 block of 15th Street, Northwest on
Saturday morning.
D.C. fire officials said the fire was extinguished and one
person was evaluated on the scene, but not transported to a hospital.
So this fire just broke out right outside the White
House.... pic.twitter.com/jxMdPIgmRI
— Will Sweet (@will_sweet1) March 7, 2015
Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary told The Associated
Press around the same time, a bomb-sniffing dog detected something on a vehicle
nearby. That vehicle was being checked out by the Secret Service and other
officers.
The fire at the vendor cart briefly delayed the departure of
President Barack Obama and the first family to commemorate the historic 50th
anniversary of the civil rights march in to Selma.
The White House press pool was out on the South Lawn for the
departure when a loud explosion was heard, the pool report said. The Secret
Service moved the press back into the White House and initiated a lockdown of
the building.
Source: www.nbcwashington.com