Gas line break forces evacuation of five buildings
Jason McFarley
News Editor
A broken gas line on a University construction site Monday caused no injuries but forced the evacuation of several nearby buildings, disrupting morning classes.
The break occurred around 10 a.m. after a backhoe struck a 4-inch gas line near the site of the new philosophy-theology office building, still under construction as an addition to Decio Faculty Hall, according to Notre Dame Fire Department Operations Chief John Antonucci.
Notre Dame fire officials responded to an emergency call about 10:09 a.m. and arrived on the scene with a risk management officer and a crew from Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Antonucci said.
While Antonucci said he gave word around 10:15 a.m. to evacuate, some students in neighboring O'Shaughnessy Hall said they remained in their classrooms until at least 10:30 a.m., when fire alarms sounded.
"Our class was running late. It was 10:30, and we should have been out five minutes earlier," said junior Katrina Myers. "I could definitely smell gas while sitting in class."
Senior Kelly Potter gave a similar estimate of the time of evacuation.
"It was around 10:30. I couldn't smell gas in class, but once we were in the halls, I could smell it and had an idea of what was going on. Still, most people treated it like it was only a fire drill," Potter said.
Antonucci said NIPSCO workers made temporary repairs to the line within an hour.
Following the repairs, students, faculty and staff were allowed to reoccupy the five campus buildings that had been evacuated: O'Shaughnessy Hall, Decio Hall, Stepan Chemistry Hall, the Radiation Library and the Computing Center/ Mathematics Building. By 11:30 a.m., students, faculty and staff were allowed to reoccupy the buildings.
"We ordered people to evacuate as a precaution, but NIPSCO had repairs done within the hour and we were able to give the all clear around 11:20 or 11:30," Antonucci said.
Antonucci said firemen on the scene helped evacuate buildings and directed students away from the area between Stepan and O'Shaughnessy. Many students reported being directed toward DeBartolo Hall.
The temporary gas outaged closed the grills during lunch at South Dining Hall. The grills reopened for dinner.
The damaged gas line was at the north entrance of the philosophy-theology building, which is scheduled to be open in the fall. The building is adjacent to O'Shaughnessy Hall and the Radiation Lab.
All News Stories for Tuesday, March 27, 2001
