Gas Leak Prompts Campus Evacuation

Fayetteville firefighters and students wait Wednesday from a safe distance along Dickson Street after a gas leak was reported in the area near the Bell Engineering building on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Students and faculty were evacuated from the surrounding buildings until the gas company was able to fix the leak. No injuries were reported.
Fayetteville firefighters and students wait Wednesday from a safe distance along Dickson Street after a gas leak was reported in the area near the Bell Engineering building on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville. Students and faculty were evacuated from the surrounding buildings until the gas company was able to fix the leak. No injuries were reported.

FAYETTEVILLE — Several thousand students evacuated nine University of Arkansas buildings late Wednesday morning after a construction crew cut an underground gas line on Dickson Street near the Hillside Auditorium.

Steve Voorhies, media relations manager for the university, said a subcontractor for Clark Construction ruptured the 1.5-inch gas line about 10:50 a.m. Voorhies said he didn’t know the name of the subcontractor.

“They were working on a sidewalk removal project and the gas line was closer than they realized,” he said.

An area south of Dickson Street, west of Harmon Avenue, north of Fairview Street and east of Garland Avenue was evacuated as a precaution.

Voorhies said as many as 4,500 students and several hundred faculty and staff members evacuated Wednesday.

At A Glance

University Project

The University of Arkansas is repaving a portion of Dickson Street and adding curb, gutter and sidewalks, according to a June 5 news release. Both lanes are closed from Ozark Avenue to the southeast corner of Bell Engineering until Aug. 16. Cars are directed around the construction using designated detour routes.

Source: Staff Report

The buildings included Brough Commons, Yocum Hall, Humphries Hall, Kimpel Hall, Walton College, the Reynolds Center, Walker Hall, Hunt Hall, Hillside Auditorium, the Heating Plant and Mechanical Engineering.

Bill Ragan, an academic adviser, said he was attending new student orientation when the fire alarm sounded.

“Everyone got out fairly quickly,” he said. “An officer in front of Walker Hall told us there was a gas leak and to stay away from the buildings.”

Voorhies said Wednesday’s evacuation included 250 students attending three orientation sessions.

Claire Davies, a senior mentor, said students cooperated during the evacuation.

“Most people thought it was a false alarm,” she said. “With all the construction and with so many people on campus, the university has to take precautionary measures.”

Mauro Campos, Fayetteville Fire Department battalion chief, said “dangerous levels” of gas weren't detected on campus.

Firefighters used gas meter detection units to determine the concentration of gas in the air.

If the meter detects an “explosive level” of gas, it’s considered to be dangerous, Campos said.

“Natural gas is lighter than air so it flows to the roof line and goes into the atmosphere,” he said. “If it stays in a confined place, that’s when there’s more of a danger.”

Voorhies said a Source Gas emergency crew stopped the leak around 12:10 p.m., the air quality in the area was tested and found safe, and an all-clear was issued, ending the evacuation.

“It was about lunch time so (the students) went across campus to the Union or the Northwest Quad Dining Hall,” he said. “By the time lunch was over, so was the evacuation.”

Rich Davis, community development spokesman for Source Gas, said first responders followed protocol by evacuating students, cordoning off the area and allowing utility workers to find and stop the leak.

“As long as the natural gas is outside and dissipating into the air, there’s little danger,” he said.

Davis said utility crews were repairing the line late Wednesday afternoon. He expected the work to be finished by the end of the day.

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