Algonquin College has called off an evacuation of several buildings on its Woodroffe campus Feb. 6 after a controlled gas purge, according to Phil Gaudreau, Algonquin’s communications officer.
Gaudreau said all activities are now resuming at the discretion of faculty members.
Marc Messier, the public information officer for Ottawa Fire Services, said there was a gas smell originally thought to be a gas leak by the public, before being revealed to be a controlled gas purge by Enbridge Gas.
The Enbridge Gas website posted a notice of controlled natural gas venting in the City of Ottawa starting at 10:30 a.m., which was scheduled to last for one to two hours.
Advanced notice was given out to those in the immediately affected areas, according to Enbridge’s website. The company also apologized for the unanticipated spread of the smell.
Gaudreau said he was unsure whether Algonquin was notified of the gas venting.
He said the evacuations began around 1:40 p.m., and since it was just the smell of gas and not a gas leak, no injuries are believed to have occurred.
“We have a very strong safety, security services and emergency management department, so we’re always prepared for these types of situations, and I think today’s timely and orderly evacuation was a reflection of that,” he said.
Algonquin student Deanna Spagnuolo said the evacuation caught everyone by surprise. She said she and many other students had to cover their mouths as they evacuated the college.
“Apparently it was a scheduled gas leak set on purpose by Enbridge, which I don’t know why people weren’t warned,” she said. “There were students in wheelchairs and stuff and apparently that was a problem.”
Messier said Ottawa Fire Services has received hundreds of calls about the smell of gas, and is still receiving some complaints. He said Ottawa Fire Services is responding to calls in order to ensure there are no hazards.
Algonquin’s health services, counselling and registrar’s offices are closed for the remainder of the day, according to the college’s Twitter feed.
