KBZK

Posted: Mar 1, 2010 9:47 PM
Updated: Mar 2, 2010 8:30 PM

Nearly a year after the downtown Bozeman explosion, the gaping hole on East Main Street has become a part of the local landscape. 

The story of the city's biggest catastrophe has moved into our shared history. But during the  8 o'clock hour of March 5, 2009, half a city block littered the street, smoke filled the air, and nothing was certain.

"A lot of people thought a car had hit the building they were in or that an airplane crashed," said assistant city manager Chuck Winn.

Confusion and speculation began to spread. The Nova Café was one of the only downtown businesses open. Reactions ranged from panicked to curious, even almost casual.

"Some people went about their business, eating their meals, some people left immediately," said Nova manager Serena Rundberg. "All of the electricity, everything was down. So we finished up cooking what meals we could."

By 8:45 a.m. firefighters evacuated the cafe. It would not re-open for three more days.

City officials quickly gathered available information. Emergency crews went to work. Winn says they wondered if more disaster was on the way.

"What happened here? Could it be happening other places, in town or on Main Street? We did that, and we felt pretty certain pretty early on into the incident that this was an isolated event."

Rocky Mountain Rug Gallery owner Jalal Neishabouri was just happy to be alive. Minutes before the explosion he left his office just to the west of the site to grab some coffee and breakfast on the other side of the building. At first he thought old age had knocked him off his feet, but when he returned to his office he saw his windows blown out and the apple on his desk.

"There were three or four pieces of glass that had gone through that apple, and that would have been me. So I'm just really thankful," Neishabouri said.