Smoke at Government Center leads to evacuation, downtown street closures

Downtown streets around the Government Center were closed off Wednesday morning as authorities investigated smoke in the building.

Employees and those inside the building were evacuated around 11 a.m. Groups of people were seen standing near First Avenue at 10th Street around 11:30 a.m. The intersection of Broadway and 10th Street was closed to traffic.

A lawyer outside the Government Center said the presence of smoke on the sixth floor set off alarms and prompted the evacuation.

Major Joe McCrea said Columbus Fire and EMS responded to the scene. The smoke may have been caused by something electrical.

The building was reopened at 11:55 a.m. and normal traffic flow resumed, McCrea said.

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 12:02 PM.