At 4:02p.m. today, Mar 19, a smell thought to be a gas leak forced all students and staff to evacuate the building. After 15 minutes of waiting outside in the blustery weather, Principal Phillip Gainous went onto the P.A. system to give the all-clear.
The emergency was initially reported because of a gas-like stench, which permeated throughout Blair Boulevard. "We got that smell and thought it was gas," Gainous said.
In actuality, the source of the problem was a hydraulic leak from one of the SAC doors leading out to the student parking lot. "Like transmission fluid," Gainous said, describing the leak.
The cause of the leak was probably regular wear and tear on the hydraulic ram, according to night leader Harold Walker.
The building's circulation system was responsible for the rapid spread of the odor. "The fans suck the air out, and you smell it all over the second and third floors," said Walker.
The spill should be cleaned up tonight.
Kevin Fang. More »
Jeremy Hoffman. Jeremy Hoffman serves his second year on <i>Silver Chips Online</i> as the System Administrator. Following in the footsteps of Robert Day and Joe Howley, he'll be writing the code that makes the online paper work. Jeremy was born in D.C. and raised in Bethesda. His … More »
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