Gas Leak Scuttles First Working Day at Gingrich HQ in Urbandale

Newt Gingrich's camp was all set to put in their first full day of work in their new Iowa campaign headquarters on Friday. 

Despite his soaring popularity, until now Gingrich didn't have a headquarters here, perhaps an example of why insiders feel in the first in the nation caucus state.

But, being in a new office in December in Iowa, it was a little chilly. So, staff attempted to crank up the heat, which appears to be at the root of a gas leak that sent most of them home on their first day in the new space.

"We couldn't get the heat to work," volunteer Craig Schoenfeld said on Friday afternoon. "We tried to turn the heat on and apparently the gas built up."

Because the build up was gradual, no one in the office noticed it until a Wall Street Journal reporter walked in and told them they had a gas leak.

"We went outside for a while and then came back in and said, "Oh yeah, we do," said Schoenfeld, who quit the Gingrich campaign in June, worked in the Rick Perry camp for a few months, and now is back as a volunteer with Gingrich.

The office furniture was delivered on Wednesday and the staff was with Gingrich as he made several campaign appearances on Thursday, so Friday was the first day the small staff was to work in the office.

But, Schoenfeld said he sent everyone home. No one was ill. The Iowa Newt crew will try it again on Monday.