All residents of Howard University residence hall College Hall South were immediately evacuated following a reported gas smell on Jan. 16th, around 7:30 p.m.
College Hall South (CHS) is one of the largest of the eleven university-sanctioned residence halls, housing up to 878 students. CHS is co-ed and open to all classifications, but is primarily comprised of female freshmen. It is also one of the newer dorms on campus, with its construction dating back to 2019.
Leading up to the incident, residents complained about the lack of hot water in showers, especially due to the low temperatures outside and the frequent below-freezing weather at night.
According to communication sent to residents from the building manager, the dorm was in need of repairs to the water heater in order to ensure hot water could once again be distributed throughout the building. Upon successful completion of the repair, one of the vendors involved with the procedure mistakenly left a burner open, which caused a faint gas odor to spread throughout the building.
Residents complained about the smell via their GroupMe, which is an online messaging service that residents use to communicate. Some residents shared in the chat that they were beginning to experience headaches due to the smell.
According to a GroupMe message from the building manager, residents were instructed to evacuate using the stairwells after a strong odor was reported in the building. Elevators were temporarily shut down during the evacuation.
The fire department arrived promptly and responded to the incident, advising residents to remain outside while the toxic smell dissipated. Residents were allowed to re-enter the building after approximately 45 minutes, once the fire department determined it was safe.
“We all had to evacuate so we went across the street. It was really cold outside, we were all like… shivering,” Jourdyn Penns-Douglass, a first-year sociology major and resident of CHS said.
All residents were instructed to evacuate across the street to the Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library parking lot, the designated location primarily used for fire alarms. Penns-Douglass says she was in the middle of a floor meeting when she had to evacuate.
Several residents claim that they did not receive any official email communication following the conclusion of the incident. All announcements during the incident were made via the building’s GroupMe chat. Despite several resident complaints throughout the day, Penns-Douglass believes that overall, the incident was taken care of adequately.
“I feel like it was a timely manner, but maybe they [the building manager or resident assistants] could have given out an announcement earlier in the day, because I know they smelled it too,” she said.
Another resident from CHS, who wished to remain anonymous, says she was asleep when the incident unfolded.
“I was in bed sleeping when my friend called and woke me up. She said there had been a message sent out in our dorm’s GroupMe notifying that all residents should evacuate immediately. I got up, threw on a jacket and hurried out of my room,” she said.
This resident also stated that complaints of the smell had been reported to GroupMe for hours before the evacuation announcement, leaving some skepticism about the source of communication that exists within the dorm. She believes an additional communication method would have been useful, suggesting that intercoms in the hallways would be a positive addition to the building. This resident was especially concerned about this due to the fact that she was asleep during an emergency evacuation.
“If my friend hadn’t called to wake me up, I would have still been in bed sleeping and that could have led to something disastrous” she said.
The building manager of College Hall South, the Howard University Director of Residence Life and the Howard University Department of Public Safety did not respond with a comment in time for publication.
Copy edited by D’Nyah Jefferson – Philmore
Editor’s Note: The Office of Residence Life shared the context of the incident in a statement to The Hilltop, explaining that the “malfunction occurred with a domestic water boiler in Campus Hall South. During repairs, a light gas smell was detected in the shaft.”
The statement also emphasized that the issue was quickly addressed and that the building was deemed clear and safely reopened following the inspection.
“As a safety precaution, Campus Apartments directed residents to briefly evacuate the building until a final inspection was conducted,” the statement said.
