Day Care, Church Question Defense Firm's Closeness

'Cannon Explosion' Forced Center's Evacuation, Shook Walls, Collapsed Ceiling

Deborah Tillman heard the boom and ran for the 71 small children under her care. The Alexandria day-care center shook, the walls cracked and part of the ceiling fell, sending everyone scurrying for safety after the Monday morning blast.

Until then, Tillman did not know that a defense research company was testing defense machinery next door. The company, BAE Systems, rents space in the same Old Town building on Duke Street as Tillman's Happy Home Child Learning Center.

Tillman was still shaken yesterday by what the city called "a cannon explosion" of pressurized air, and in disbelief that the city zoning laws allowed for a defense contractor to occupy space next to her day-care center.

"You would think the city wouldn't let us get in there. Why would you put children and a church there if you knew that's what they do?" Tillman said. "We need them to be gone, that's my babies' lives. That's not okay."

She tearfully explained that she couldn't believe that none of the children were hurt, especially because several 18-month-olds were in a room where part of the ceiling collapsed. All of the children were taken to neighboring Shiloh Baptist Church, where they waited for their parents to pick them up. Fifteen adults were also evacuated from the center.

Faroll Hamer, director of the city's planning and zoning department, said her agency knew when the day care moved into the space in 2006 that it would be next to the defense testing facility. There were safety precautions in place, including "limits on the amounts of explosives and hazardous material permits," she said.

"If we thought it would be unsafe we could have turned the day-care center down," Hamer said. "We knew they were close together but we thought the regulations protected them."

Hamer added that the demand for day-care centers outpaces the supply, and the city wants to help the centers open in reasonably priced locations. "It is always a balancing act that public officials have," Hamer said.

Stu Rosenwasser, a manager for BAE Systems, said after the explosion that it was caused by a device called it an "accelerator" but declined to explain its use.

The city is conducting an investigation to determine whether BAE Systems violated zoning laws. The day care and the company cannot reopen until each is inspected for damage to electrical systems and building structure.

The Rev. Lee Earl, senior pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church, said the church subleases space to the day care. Until Monday, he said, there had never been a problem with BAE Systems.

"I've got a lot of questions -- I don't know what happened back there. I'm not sure of the nature or what caused it," Earl said. "Everybody needs to understand the nature of what's taking place. If the company can't reveal that, they need to remove themselves."