The University Centre (UC) was evacuated early afternoon on Oct. 30 for precaution as Campus Safety responded to a gas leak.
Campus Avenue has been closed to cars and pedestrians, including buses, as Campus Safety responds. There have been no reported injuries, but Ottawa Fire Services were on the scene.
Darryl Boyce, vice-president (facilities management and planning) at Carleton, said a pipe was hit during construction on parking lot P2 in front of the UC and Steacie Building.
Boyce said the initial steps of constructing the new Health Sciences building on campus were underway when the pipe was hit.
“We were doing some soil samples, which means you sort of drill a hole in the ground and take some soil out to know what the composition is,” Boyce said. He added the gas company responsible for the pipes, Union Gas, mistakenly approved drilling in the area.
“I’m not exactly sure how the communication got messed up. It was an approved location, [but] it actually wasn’t a good location to be drilling,” Boyce said.
As natural gas is flammable, Boyce said evacuating the area was necessary as a safety precaution.
“We wouldn’t want anyone near it that would be smoking or any kind of thing that would create a spark and ignite the natural gas and put anybody in risk,” Boyce said.
He said the gas leak has since been stopped and the area has been opened up to the public again, however, the damage to the gas line is still in the process of repair.
Boyce said this incident will not delay the schedule of the Health Sciences Building’s completion.
