Archbold Gymnasium evacuates after pressure leak in vapor system
Department of Recreation Services officials evacuated Archbold Gymnasium on Sunday night due to a pressure leak in the building’s vapor system.
Fire department officials said the leak was not harmful and that they intended to fix the leak that night, said Cassie Pettinati, operations supervisor for Archbold. She added that recreation services officials would be notified if the gym was unable to open Monday morning.
At about 9:45 p.m., a gym attendant noticed a musky smell in the lower level of the building, said Pettinati, a sophomore interior design major. When Pettinati went downstairs to investigate, she discovered a leak in the pipes that hang from the ceiling of the hallway adjacent to the laundry room. Not knowing the nature of the leak, Pettinati said, she decided to call Physical Plant and the Department of Public Safety and evacuate the lower level of the gym.
At this point, Pettinati said the smell had gotten stronger and begun to spread upstairs.
“The heat had traveled from the hallway into the regular area,” she said. “You could feel the heat and smell pretty intensely.”
Acting with DPS’ approval, Pettinati then decided to evacuate the whole building with the help of other recreations services attendants. By 10:30 p.m., she said, everyone was out of the building and DPS and the fire department had responded.
Published on April 15, 2013 at 1:36 am