Natural gas scare forces evacuation of Baker College
Baker College residents had an unexpected start to their weekend Friday night, as they were evacuated due to what was initially reported as a gas leak in the colleges’ kitchen. However, it was revelaed to be merely a blown out pilot light.
At 9:17 p.m., Baker President Karen Spitzfaden reported the smell of natural gas to Facilities, Engineering and Planning Department, who sent representatives to the scene.
“Our room is over the servery, so everyone in my room thought the smell must be from the kitchen,” Spitzfaden said.
Students in rooms closest to the servery were evacuated first.
However, to ensure all residents’ safety, Rice University Police Department later ordered an evacuation of the entire college.
“The only thing that worried me was when one of the RUPD officers said that pulling the fire alarm might set off a spark and blow the whole place up,” Spitzfaden said.
RUPD went door-to-door to make sure students did not mistake the fire alarm for a drill. Students evacuated to the Allen Center or to Lovett College commons for no more than half an hour.
“Everyone was good natured in evacuating and brought food and drinks to camp out at Lovett College,” Baker College Master Jose Aranda said.
As a matter of safety protocol, a slew of agencies arrived quickly on the scene. Employees from FE&P and Housing and Dining first verified the claim. RUPD later called the Houston Fire Department, which responded with five fire engines, and Centerpoint Energy Entex conducted a final assessment of the situation and switched off the gas.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t a real gas leak,” Rice University Police Captain Phil Hassell said. “All the agencies were called out to the scene to follow protocol.”
Instead of a gas leak from a broken pipe, the natural gas smell was caused by a blown out pilot light on one of the gas-burning appliances in the kitchen. Most commonly found in water heaters, pilot lights continuously emit a small flame and serve as the ignition source for gas burners. If the flame is blown out, natural gas begins to leak.
“There really wasn’t any danger,” Housing and Dining Tenant Services Manager Mark Chaszar, said. “It takes a very long time for the pilot light, which emits a minuscule amount of gas, to do any real harm.”
After Centerpoint shut off the gas, kitchen windows and doors were opened for ventilation and the pilot light was reignited. Before evacuating, Baker senior Robert Smith played We Didn’t Start the Fire on loop over the college’s loudspeakers.
“We were reasonably confident our commons wouldn’t blow up,” Smith said.
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