Fire Department

The Madison Fire Department and MGE responded to the UW-Madison campus for multiple reports of a natural gas odor in several buildings.

Engine Co. 4 first responded to Chamberlain Hall at 4:45 p.m. While en route, Engine Co. 1 was also dispatched to Ingraham Hall for the same complaint, and Ladder Co. 1 later responded to Chemistry Hall along with Command Car 31. A building manager at Chamberlain Hall confirmed to firefighters there had not been any natural gas services running to their building for the last year. Nevertheless, the building manager could smell something akin to natural gas and pulled the fire alarm to prompt an evacuation.

Altogether, firefighters investigated reports of the odor at Chamberlain Hall, Ingraham Hall, Sterling Hall, and the Chemistry Building. In each case, crews could not detect any natural gas readings on their portable air monitors, and the presence of the odor was fleeting.

Engine Co. 4 was eventually notified that occupants in Shain Chemistry Research Tower “scrubbed” some chemicals via their ventilation system about 10 minutes prior to the multiple 911 calls. The chemical in question was reportedly a mercaptan product, the same gas that gives natural gas its detectable odor. This chemical was released into the hood system and exhausted to rooftop vents.

Given the high winds of the day, firefighters and MGE surmised this was likely the source of all the reported gas odors on campus. No illnesses were reported during the incident.