ISAT evacuated
By Dominic Desmond, news editor
Posted on September 7, 2006

Fire alarms went off just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon at ISAT due to a natural gas leak.

Students, faculty and staff were evacuated from the building. Harrisonburg Fire Department officials could not say where the gas originated specifically, but did say the gas did not come from the campus.

At about 3:50 p.m., Joseph Rudmin, a teacher’s assistant and lab ops support technician for ISAT, pulled a fire alarm after he “smelled the strongest smell of natural gas” in HHS.

“I thought it was a prank,” Rudmin said. He also said it took about five minutes for an ambulance to reach ISAT and another five minutes for fire trucks to arrive.

The HFD said at just after 4:30 p.m. there was no danger, and students, faculty and staff were allowed back into the building.

Senior Jonathan Brown was in the lab with Rudmin. Brown said Rudmin told the students to evacuate. The senior said he left with such haste, he left his book bag in the lab.

Jess Johnson, a graduate student, was walking into the building while other people were standing outside and noticed something was wrong when she saw the fire alarms flashing.
The gas leak did not cause the Festival Conference and Student Center to evacuate.
 
Festival staff member Jeremy Hawkins only noticed a problem when he saw a fire truck drive up to the main Festival entrance. Hawkins said business was normal, but said there might have been more people playing pool.