Well, THAT was an adventure!
A transformer exploded in an NStar building next to the Hilton Back Bay about 6:30 tonight.
Then everything went black.
The Hilton is about a 20 minute walk from where I work. We didn't hear the explosion so we didn't have any reference why the power cut out at 7:30. Another ten minutes and we would have left the store. Both registers were cashed out but we hadn't powered down the computers nor dropped the money into the drop safe. I still had to double count the deposit. I made sure that the staff finished the mundane tasks to keep them from panicking. I told the part time employee" Yes, you have to finish mopping in the dark, we still have a spot light and mop what you can see." I had our cashier bring all the deposit information to the stock room that had better emergency lighting than the front of the store. Then I was going to have our cashier find out what was going on while I called POS support. No land line and no cell phone service.
We looked outside and most of Newbury Street was blacked out. A police van drove down the street telling us that the smoke was toxic and get inside, close all the doors and windows and to stay away from the windows. We still had no idea what was going on and one of the accessory store girls was saying it was some solar flare thing, yadda yadda. Now, I love those girls dearly, but they can be a bit dumb sometimes. That's when my cowworkers really started to panic and I entertained some Night Of The Commat doomsday scenarios. The police were also saying telling people who were walking around outside to walk towards the Boston Common. After I realized that I could still arm the store with the alarm, we decided to leave the store and walk 4 blocks to the park.
Our cashier asked some college students what was happening and that's how we found out about the fire. Though we were told that the Hilton was on fire due to an explosion. Two blocks up the street I finally had cell phone reception and I called our Head Office to explain about the registers not powered down before the electricity was shut off. Then I asked an MBTA employee what had happened. The subway was shut down at Copley, Hynes Convention Center, Arlington, Symphony Hall, and the Prudential Center Stop on the Green Line and Mass Ave on the Orange Line. After securing that my cowworkers could safely get home, I walked twenty minutes to Park Street Station. I was so flustered that I forgot to change into my comfortable boots and walked in my no support driving moccasins. At least I wasn't wearing heels! That and I actually got on the wrong direction on the Red Line and was about to travel to Dorchester instead of Harvard Square, LOL!
Thankfully, no one was killed in the explosion, though a few were treated for smoke inhalation. I think that they are still rescuing people stuck in elevators in the Pru and hopefully they are OK. The Back Bay is still dark according to news reports but they are starting to let people back home. I hope our registers aren't damaged and our sales lost for the day. I really, don't want to do hand written sales slips.
Then everything went black.
The Hilton is about a 20 minute walk from where I work. We didn't hear the explosion so we didn't have any reference why the power cut out at 7:30. Another ten minutes and we would have left the store. Both registers were cashed out but we hadn't powered down the computers nor dropped the money into the drop safe. I still had to double count the deposit. I made sure that the staff finished the mundane tasks to keep them from panicking. I told the part time employee" Yes, you have to finish mopping in the dark, we still have a spot light and mop what you can see." I had our cashier bring all the deposit information to the stock room that had better emergency lighting than the front of the store. Then I was going to have our cashier find out what was going on while I called POS support. No land line and no cell phone service.
We looked outside and most of Newbury Street was blacked out. A police van drove down the street telling us that the smoke was toxic and get inside, close all the doors and windows and to stay away from the windows. We still had no idea what was going on and one of the accessory store girls was saying it was some solar flare thing, yadda yadda. Now, I love those girls dearly, but they can be a bit dumb sometimes. That's when my cowworkers really started to panic and I entertained some Night Of The Commat doomsday scenarios. The police were also saying telling people who were walking around outside to walk towards the Boston Common. After I realized that I could still arm the store with the alarm, we decided to leave the store and walk 4 blocks to the park.
Our cashier asked some college students what was happening and that's how we found out about the fire. Though we were told that the Hilton was on fire due to an explosion. Two blocks up the street I finally had cell phone reception and I called our Head Office to explain about the registers not powered down before the electricity was shut off. Then I asked an MBTA employee what had happened. The subway was shut down at Copley, Hynes Convention Center, Arlington, Symphony Hall, and the Prudential Center Stop on the Green Line and Mass Ave on the Orange Line. After securing that my cowworkers could safely get home, I walked twenty minutes to Park Street Station. I was so flustered that I forgot to change into my comfortable boots and walked in my no support driving moccasins. At least I wasn't wearing heels! That and I actually got on the wrong direction on the Red Line and was about to travel to Dorchester instead of Harvard Square, LOL!
Thankfully, no one was killed in the explosion, though a few were treated for smoke inhalation. I think that they are still rescuing people stuck in elevators in the Pru and hopefully they are OK. The Back Bay is still dark according to news reports but they are starting to let people back home. I hope our registers aren't damaged and our sales lost for the day. I really, don't want to do hand written sales slips.