Article written by News Editor Zoebelle Bean
On Thursday, April 18, at 7:00 p.m, a gas leak was reported on the first floor of the Academic Building of Aquinas College. Students and faculty who were in class at that time were promptly evacuated and campus safety as well as a fire truck came within minutes to assess the situation. Within fifteen minutes of arrival, the fire truck left, having determined that a leak had happened due to carbon monoxide leaking from one of the generators in the basement. They sealed the doorway to prevent further spread and allowed everyone to resume their classes.
A week prior, the strong gas scent had been smelt by a professor from the right wing of the building. They had released their class in fear of contamination and the professor had called campus safety and they reassured them that they would investigate the case. A week later, the same smell was once again detected, and campus safety was called a second time. While they were on their way to the scene, the professor called 911 to make sure there was equipment and officials on site to deal with the issue.
According to Lillian Syren, “Last week during my Thursday night class, there was a really strong, gas smell, and it wasn’t just in our classroom. It was throughout the whole first floor hallway… Campus Safety…said that a generator had been pumping fumes into a room and then it was spreading throughout the entire building. Today it started again and [a] teacher came into our classroom and said, ‘sorry to bother you, but I’m pretty sure there’s a gas leak, we need to leave’…Eventually, Campus Safety pulled up in their Subaru with the lights on and they told us to evacuate.”
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There are roughly anywhere between 5-7 classes taking place Thursday nights this semester, with even more the following morning. Should another gas leak happen on campus, it is crucial to understand best practices to avoid having to evacuate roughly 50 students from a building at 7:00 p.m. at night again.
A gas leak often smells like rotten eggs or metal, and this unsavory smell can be accompanied by a hissing noise or a white cloud accumulating near the origin source. If this smell is detected, it is important that you contact Campus Safety immediately and inform them of the situation to follow their directives concerning proper procedures.
The Saint 