Update:
Work is underway to repair North Monroe Street in front of the Leon County Courthouse. Crews say an electrical fire underground caused an explosion and damage around 5:15 this morning.
The courthouse is closed because of the incident, and multiple roads are closed. The Florida Supreme Court has been impacted with cases being delayed because attorneys couldn't reach the building in time.
Press release from the City of Tallahassee:
This morning, Oct. 6, around 5:15 a.m., the Tallahassee Fire Department (TFD) responded to a fire alarm at the Leon County Courthouse. Crews quickly arrived on scene and found several fires in the roadways and visible damage that caused traffic impacts near Monroe Street, Apalachee Parkway and Calhoun Street. While there were early reports of a possible gas leak, which was quickly ruled out by TFD, the incident was determined to have been related to an underground electrical fire.
The bulk of the impacts occurred on Monroe Street between Jefferson Street and Apalachee Parkway in the area of a paving project being facilitated by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Monroe Street remains closed in the area, with the northbound lanes expected to reopen by early afternoon. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible. Delays downtown should be expected all day.
TFD, the Tallahassee Police Department, City of Tallahassee Electric & Gas Utility, City of Tallahassee Underground Utilities & Public Infrastructure department, Leon County Sheriff’s Office, Capitol Police and FDOT coordinated the early morning response, remain on scene and will continue to work throughout the day.
A planned electric service outage was implemented in the downtown area to allow electric crews to safely assess and make repairs. This is impacting traffic signals and area buildings, and generators have been installed to assist at key intersections. Intersections with non-operational traffic signals should be treated as four-way stops.
All fires have been extinguished. The exact cause of the underground electrical fire is still under investigation.
Press release from Leon County Government:
An underground electrical fire near the Augustus D. Aikens, Jr. Leon County Courthouse (301 S. Monroe St.) has closed the Courthouse and Leon County Annex today and impacted County infrastructure, including the County's fiber-optic network. First responders are working to identify the source and address the situation.
"This morning's underground electrical fire has affected several County services, and we are supporting the City of Tallahassee and our public safety partners as they lead the response," said Leon County Commission Chairman Christian Caban. "County teams are working in the field and remotely to assess the impacts and restore essential services as quickly as possible. We will keep the public informed as we learn more, and I want to thank everyone working to keep our community safe."
The damage is disrupting several County services, including some County phone lines, the County website, text-to-911 and in-person visitation at the Leon County Detention Facility.
"Our priority is getting County services back up and running, and our teams have been working since early this morning to restore the network and assess the Courthouse," said Leon County Administrator Vincent S. Long. "This is a significant, coordinated effort with the City of Tallahassee, the Sheriff's Office, the Consolidated Dispatch Agency and our other partners. Our goal is to get back to fully serving the public quickly, and we will share a timeline for reopening the Courthouse and Annex with the community soon.”
Call 911 for Emergencies
Voice calls to 911 are working normally. Text-to-911 is temporarily offline, so anyone with an emergency should call 911. Residents who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who have a speech disability, can reach 911 by TTY.
For non-emergency calls, contact the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-891-4200. For updates from the Tallahassee-Leon County Consolidated Dispatch Agency, visit TLCCDA.org.
Courthouse and Annex Closed
The Leon County Courthouse (301 S. Monroe St.) and Leon County Annex (315 S. Calhoun St.) are closed today, Oct. 6. Leon County will announce when they reopen. The public is asked to avoid the area and follow directions from first responders.
County Phones and Website
Some County phone lines (numbers beginning with 606) may have intermittent service.
LeonCountyFL.gov is intermittently unavailable. County information and services remain available at cms.LeonCountyFL.gov.
Leon County Sheriff's Office
Some Leon County Sheriff's Office phone lines (numbers beginning with 606) may also have intermittent service.
In-person visitation at the Leon County Detention Facility is suspended today, Oct. 6. Virtual visitation remains available. For updates from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, visit Facebook.com/LeonFLSO.
Updates
For emergency information and service updates related to this incident, visit cms.LeonCountyFL.gov/ei.
Original story:
Roads are closed near the Leon County Courthouse, and the courthouse is also closed. Tallahassee police say first responders are dealing with road damage caused by an underground electrical fire.
Folks in the area reported hearing an explosion around 5:30 this morning. Drivers are being told to seek alternate routes. Part of North Monroe Street and surrounding roads may be closed for the day.
Here is the press release from Leon County Government:
The Leon County Courthouse and Leon County Annex are closed today due to ongoing public safety response near the Courthouse.
As reported by public safety agencies, first responder agencies are currently responding to an underground electrical fire near the Augustus D. Aikens, Jr. Leon County Courthouse (301 S. Monroe St.) and are working to identify the source and address the situation.
For the safety of others, Leon County asks the public to not report to the Leon County Courthouse or Leon County Annex (315 S. Calhoun St.) until further notice.
Leon County will continue to monitor the situation in coordination with first responder agencies. Once it has been determined that it is safe to reopen the Courthouse and Annex, Leon County will provide an update.
The public is asked to avoid the area and follow directions from first responders.
For more information, contact Leon County Community and Media Relations, at 850-606-5300 / CMR@LeonCountyFL.gov.
