LEWISTON — A series of blasts along Birch Street on Wednesday night sent nearby residents scrambling and police descended on the area from all directions.

The explosions near Birch and Pierce streets were initially reported as gunfire. Police came to the area with their own guns drawn, chasing down suspects on both sides of Pierce Street.

Several people were ordered to the ground and detained while police sorted out the situation.

The blasts were reported shortly before 9 p.m. For an hour, police remained at the scene, searching an apartment house on the corner where the disturbance appeared to have originated.

By 10 p.m., no arrest had been made.

Clusters of people milled on the streets and on sidewalks, watching the action and trying to deduce what had happened.

One woman said she was working on a computer in her nearby apartment when she heard what she thought were gunshots.

“I just about had a heart attack,” she said.

Another woman said the first explosion “sounded like a cannon.” A man who lives on the other side of Pierce Street said he initially believed he had heard gunshots and stayed indoors until the situation seemed under control.

Several others who had been outside, however, said the noises were fireworks. Police said that appeared to be the case, though the incident remained under investigation.

Nobody was hurt.