On the day back from Thanksgiving break, students, faculty and staff received an email and phone call through Point Alert announcing that the West Penn building was closed and classes were canceled due to maintenance.

Nick Paradise, a representative for Peoples Gas, said it was notified of a “possible gas odor in the West Penn building at 8 a.m.” and that technicians responded immediately after to shut gas off to the building. 

The leak was identified by Point Park at 6:30 a.m. according to Chris Hill, vice president of operations for the Physical Plant. The communication to students, faculty and staff was sent out at 7:53 a.m. Monday. 

At least six Peoples Gas vehicles were on Wood Street in front of West Penn at 9:46 a.m. along with a Duquesne light truck and a front loader. A technician stood on the corner of Wood Street near Fort Pitt Boulevard and in front of the CMI, lowering someone into the manhole on the sidewalk. According to Hill, Peoples identified that the leak was outside of the building and in their gas vault. 

“I probably should have been more worried than I was more excited that I didn’t have class,” Makayla Wynn, a first year  musical theatre student said.

Initially the building’s maintenance canceled her three hour long oral communications class scheduled for 6 p.m. 

However, after Peoples restored gas service to the building at 10 a.m. according to Paradise, students and staff received a subsequent phone call and email at 3:44 p.m. through Point Alert. In the call, Wynn was informed that her class was no longer online and that the building would reopen for the afternoon. 

“I was looking forward to a night off,” Wynn said. “If it was over Zoom I probably would have preferred it less. I would be less motivated to stay awake if I was in my bed.”

In the morning, Wynn still had 8 a.m. ballet, music theory and piano class. No other university building was affected by the leak.

Classes inside of West Penn were canceled out of “an abundance of caution to keep students, faculty and staff safe,” Hill said in an email. “We closed the building until Peoples [could] make their repair.”

Some professors canceled classes while others held the A synchronistically.

Other first year students like Edison Toby and James Watts didn’t need to go to their city university life classes because they were scheduled during the maintenance in the morning. 

“I had more time to sleep and get back into the groove of college,” Toby said.

Students were not formally notified that the building was closed due to a gas leakage. 

“I wish that they could have been more open about it,” Watts said, in addition to city university life class his live entertainment business was also canceled.

If someone thinks they smell gas, Peoples recommends leaving the area immediately, then to call Peoples at 1-800-400-4271 and 911 to investigate.