With the pungent smell of gas permeating the chilly air, thousands of faculty, staff and students were evacuated from University buildings surrounding the new Observatory Hill Dining Hall construction site yesterday afternoon because of a backhoe striking a high pressure natural gas main there.
The accident occurred at approximately 1:49 p.m. and Charlottesville fire department personnel were on the scene roughly two minutes later, Charlottesville Fire Department Battalion Chief Raymond James said.
The intersection of Alderman and McCormick Roads, including portions of each road in each direction, immediately were closed to traffic.
Mike Dulaney, a construction worker who witnessed the accident, said a minor explosion could have followed the backhoe's collision with the gas main. Dulaney added that he was then directed to immediately evacuate the construction site along with his coworkers.
James said the fire department, upon its arrival, evacuated buildings surrounding the area of the gas leak including the Treehouse snack bar, the Astronomy building, Gilmer Hall, the Chemistry building and several Alderman Road dormitories by pulling fire alarms in order to force building occupants to leave as quickly as possible.
Dean Caulfield, O-Hill employee and safety inspector, said evacuation procedures at the popular dining facility went smoothly.
"The unit was evacuated as quickly as possible," Caulfield said. "As soon as we got the information, we notified all our customers to leave."
Fourth-year Astronomy graduate student Jeffrey Anderson echoed the sentiments of many evacuated building occupants when he complained about yesterday's frigid temperatures standing in the Facilities Management parking lot with fellow students and faculty.
"It stinks," Anderson said. "It's cold out there. If I were in classes right now, I'd still be really happy."
Biology Prof. Deforest Mellon said he was writing an important grant proposal when the blaring of fire alarms in Gilmer Hall forced him to leave his office.
"The alarms went on and we all left," Mellon said. "There was a pretty intense smell of gas" outside.
Students from Gilmer Hall and the Chemistry building gathered outside the Page House dormitory following the building evacuations, while construction workers from the O-Hill building site passed time together in front of the Slaughter gymnasium.
O-Hill employees, along with many students taking refuge from the cold outside, gathered in the lobby and cafe of the Aquatic & Fitness Center, which remained open during the entire episode.
At the peak of the incident, four engine companies, a ladder company and two battalion chiefs were on the scene, but that number was quickly reduced once sufficient order was restored to the situation, James said.
Around 3:30 p.m. all occupants were allowed to return to their buildings, including the current O-Hill dining hall immediately adjacent to the construction site. In addition, the Charlottesville gas department already had commenced work to permanently fix the broken main by that time, he said.
With no injuries reported yesterday, the largest casualty of the construction debacle might have been the freshly-prepared lunch foods forced to go to waste in the closed O-Hill dining hall.
"Our food is sitting on the table and we had a good lunch today too," O-Hill employee Trina Mills said while waiting in the AFC cafe to return to work.
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