On October 4 at 6:05 p.m., Longwood students received an email from Lancer Alert addressing a gas-like smell inside the NE Longwood Landings. The email stated, “The building has been cleared and is closed while fire crews investigate.” In a follow-up email sent at 10:35 p.m., students were informed the building would remain closed “out of an abundance of caution” while “crews continue to work to locate and resolve the cause of the odor.”
The next morning, October 5 at 8:00 a.m., an email was sent identifying the gas odor as “related to some hydraulic fluid from an automatic door closing system.” Students living in the NE Landings were informed, “The building is now open and students may return to their rooms.”
The Rotunda contacted Senior Director of Residential and Commuter Life (RCL) Jean Wilwohl via email prior to Fall Break. In an answer to emailed questions, she said, “The Fire Department determined the smell was generated from a hydraulic door closer leaking fluid out at the stairway door.”
Wilwohl added, “The closer was replaced with a new unit, which fixed the issue.”
Jiovanni Raymond, the resident assistant (RA) present during the incident on October 4, said, “Around 5:30 p.m., there was a knock at my door informing me of a gas-like odor in the building and that my floor needed to evacuate.” Raymond says, “At first, we all assumed we would only be outside for about 30 minutes.”
An assumed 30 minutes outside turned into almost 6 hours for the residents of the NE Landings building. Raymond said, “Around 8:30 p.m., they began allowing each floor to briefly return to gather belongings, but RCL had not yet confirmed whether we would be able to stay in the building overnight. This uncertainty left us at a standstill until 10:30 p.m.”
Raymond added, “Once RCL arranged for students to stay in Cox Hall and the situation started to calm down, I was able to step back and truly appreciate the teamwork between the fire department, police and RCL staff who worked so hard to ensure our safety.”
Jake Williams, a resident at the NE Landings, said of the situation, “I was shocked, disappointed, and altogether just confused about what was happening.”
Williams is one of the residents who stayed in Cox Hall on the night of October 4. He described the situation as “rather uncomfortable” but said, “I want to recognize the RCL staff because of how they accommodated us on such short notice.”
