What would make windows explode from an apartment building?

Question

I was at home today , when it felt as if an earthquake had hit. My entire apartment shook for about half a second and you could hear a loud exploding sound. Soon, I had found out that my downstairs neighbor's windows had exploded along with the AC! Her house looked like an hurricane hit it! Outside there was her kitchen and living room window on the floor, not to mention the AC. Firefighters came and said it was because she had plugged it in to much outlits - but wouldnt that cause an blackout in her house?

Please , if anyone has any information, i would like to know , so this wouldnt happen to me.

Answer 1

If the Fire Cheif said that there was too much stuff plugged in, just be careful not to overload an outlet or this might cause a surge. This surge probably sped up the A/C enough to blow up the compressor. This could make an instant bomb. If you live in an apartment complex, just don't use a (very) big A/C and you should be fine.

Answer 2

As a child, a neighbor's water heater exploded and blew the windows of all of her neighbors windows out for a block away.

however I have never heard of an air conditioner exploding, especially if there are too many items plugged into an outlet.

It should have either popped a circuit breaker, or blown a fuse if it was on a very old system.