An off-campus gas leak evacuated residents in three houses on Oak and Fayette streets last Thursday, and they couldn’t return until Friday morning.
Seniors Matt Perkins and Kevin Frost were walking back from SOMA on Thursday, Sept. 4, when they smelt a gas leak on Fayette Street near the abandoned Mauck elementary school.
“We decided to call security who notified the fire department,” Frost said.
An hour later, the fire department came to their house to check on the water and sewage lines and determined their house was safe to sleep in.
Nick Krzeminski of Michigan Gas Utilities, the company who cleaned up the fumes, said their service technician found gas in the storm sewers.
Three other houses near the leak were evacuated, however, including the house of new Professor of Economics Christopher Martin.
“I piled my family into our car with what supplies we could gather in about three minutes. We ended up getting a room at the Dow Center for the night,” Martin said in an email.
They couldn’t return to their houses until 11:30 a.m. the next day, so Martin said he had to teach his morning class in his street clothes.
“It was all a huge inconvenience, but beats getting blown sky high. The Michigan Gas people were quite efficient and courteous. If there is a lesson in this relevant to other people, it’s that having a kind of pre-packed ‘go-bag’ with some essential clothing and supplies might not be a bad idea to keep around, in case you need to leave your home or dorm in a hurry,” Martin said.
Frost said he figured it was a small leak and that when he woke up the crews would be gone, but that wasn’t the case.
“The lights were flashing all night,” said junior Jordan Finney, who lives nearby.
Frost said some of his fellow housemates couldn’t sleep because of the crews working to isolate the gas leak.
Frost said one official thanked him and Perkins for calling because the situation was potentially dangerous.
“We thought we were making a big fuss about nothing,” Frost added, “but I guess it was actually dangerous.”
Krzeminski said by Friday afternoon the situation was no longer hazardous and homeowners were allowed back in their houses. They still do not know what caused the leak.
“I guess stuff happens,” Perkins added. “At least there wasn’t a spark and stuff went down — or up.”
