Fireworks Cause Deluge Of Panicked Calls in D.C.

In Arlington, Sheila Cordaro, 34, a stay-at-home mother who lives about a mile from the Ballston Metro stop, said she feared an accident on the tracks.

"It sounded like something had been hit and dragged across the tracks for 10 seconds. It happened again one minute later and then again," Cordaro said.

The blasts could even be heard during a student play at Sidwell Friends School in the 3800 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW.

"Constituents were calling me to ask me if it was a terrorist attack," said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). "You don't expect to hear a major fireworks display in October."

Outside Zhang's building in the 2100 block of L Street NW, residents rushed to their balconies to locate the source of the noise but were too far away to see the pyrotechnics. In that same area, pedestrians ran inside buildings in fear.

Brooke Taylor, a 19-year-old George Washington University freshman, heard the disturbance from her dorm room at Fulbright Hall, in the 2200 block of H Street.

"Everyone in the dorms rushed to the halls to see what was going on," Taylor said. "We then went to the roof and saw gray smoke with a reddish taint. Someone was, like, 'Is that a nuke?' People were saying, 'Which way is the Pentagon?'"

Arlington resident Jim Pebley was online yesterday, reading his neighbors' complaints and comments. In the age of terrorism, he said, residents simply could not dismiss the sounds.

"I think everyone's a little jumpy right now, don't you?" Pebley said.

Staff writer Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.