Minor Gas Leak Forces Evacuations at WCCC

A gas leak forced the temporary evacuations of four buildings on the Westchester County Community College campus in Valhalla Thursday, a campus spokesperson said.

Construction crews fractured a gas line while working near the campus' student center at about 2:45 p.m., said WCCC spokesperson Patrick Hennessey. The student center, which is mostly empty while it undergoes renovations, was still evacuated at 3:45 p.m.

Students were allowed to return to the three other buildings—the classroom building, technology building and library—within minutes, Hennessey said.

"As a precaution we evacuated four of the buildings for a couple of minutes then we just let everybody back in a few minutes later," Hennessey said.

Consolidated Edison crews were on the scene. The leak was fixed almost immediately, Hennessey said.

Although some classes were interrupted, Hennessey said the incident caused only a minor disruption and that no one was hurt. The student center is expected to reopen by late Thursday afternoon.

"Nothing remotely crazy," he said. "It would be comparable to a fire alarm."

Traffic was heavy outside the campus as crews responded to the scene.