A little past 9:30am on October 19, I heard a noise, which was loud enough to rattle the windows at work and cause some computer thing to beep as it reset itself. It happened a second time and then there were many sirens.
My co-worker, always quick to find answers, found the news on the Fire Department’s twitter feed. There had been a gas explosion in Northwest Portland. Firefighters were on the scene and reporters were told where they should go for updates, and the best route to get there.
Though there were injuries, amazingly no one was killed. You can see pictures and video by going here.
A week an a half later, we drove through the intersection, on the way to my Birthday dinner. This the corner with the building that exploded, as well as the apartments next door. 
The plate glass blew out of the building across the street.