Potential gas leak frightens students

Co-written by Alyssa Breiner

On November 10, around 9:30 p.m., students evacuated the McFarland Science Center due to a gas leak.

For those on the lower floors of the building, the gas leak was said to be a light smell that they did not notice, but the third floor was described as “suffocating” by those there. When the evacuation first began, only security was on site, but within five minutes, the first fire truck was on scene. 

“We were in the basement, working on a project, and a guy came in and told us to evacuate the building. We didn’t really smell inside, only under the purple awning,” said freshman Molly Broome. Prior to the evacuation, she was in the building for nine hours that day. 

Within ten minutes of the first fire truck entered the McFarland parking lot, two others were seen pulling into the lot. At this point, firefighters and campus security officers alike were working on the situation. 

A firefighter on his way into McFarland shed light on the situation: “We think it’s okay, we’re trying to figure it out, trying to find the smell.”

While firefighters were trying to locate the gas leak, campus security was gauging the safety of the surrounding area and other campus buildings. 

Thirty minutes later, firefighter Danny explained that the situation was resolved and that McFarland was not dangerous. “It was nothing. There was a belt in the HVAC system that broke, and so there was a smell leaking throughout the building.”

Feature image shot by Havana Weigant