November 9, 2004

Chemical smell leads to Stewart Center evacuation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University fire and police departments evacuated about 100 people from Stewart Center today (Tuesday, Nov. 9) after what turned out to be a harmless chemical smell spread through the building.

Officials closed off Stewart Center from about 10:30 a.m. until shortly after 11 a.m. while the source of the odor was sought, said Carol Shelby, senior director of environmental health and public safety.

Shelby said the smell was traced back to a spray lubricant used by a maintenance crew working on a building air handling system. The odor was dispersed throughout the building by the system.

The spray lubricant did not pose any health hazard to people in the building, Shelby said.

Police officers and firefighters were called to Stewart Center when someone in the building smelled the chemical and called police.

"That is exactly what that person should have done," Shelby said. "Once the decision has been made to evacuate the building, it is common to use the fire alarm to alert all building occupants. That helped to speed up the evacuation."

Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Source: Carol Shelby, (765) 494-7504, cshelby@purdue.edu

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