Reports of natural gas odour cause concern on campus
Nine buildings on the University of Guelph campus were evacuated on Wed, Mar. 1 after campus police received several reports of a natural gas odour.
The evacuated buildings included the Science Complex, Rozanski, McNaughton, Landscape Architecture, Alumni House, Dundas Hall, Johnston Hall, MacKinnon, and Blackwood Hall.
University spokesperson Lori Bona Hunt told The Ontarion, “Officers from Campus Community Police and officials from the University’s fire safety and physical resources departments responded, along with Guelph Fire, City of Guelph Police, and Union Gas.”
News of the evacuations spread quickly across campus via social media and the Overhead at Guelph Facebook page. Campus Community Police updated students and staff about the situation through their own Twitter account.
After about an hour and a half of ventilation and thorough inspection, it was determined that there was no risk to health and safety so the buildings were reopened.
According to a tweet sent out by Union Gas on Mar. 2, they have confirmed the odour was not due to a gas leak. At this time, the cause of the natural gas odour is still unknown, but Bona Hunt assured via email correspondence that “the University is continuing to investigate.”
Updates will be published when further information becomes available.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion.