Gas leak causes major disruption

Warwick University avoided disaster when a gas leak struck at the Medical School campus on Tuesday 16 November. The leak filled the air with highly combustible propane, and forced the temporary evacuation of the surrounding area and the closure of Gibbet Hill Road for around three hours.

Police, Fire and National Grid workers were called to the scene immediately, evacuating the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) and Medical School buildings, as well as 40 residential properties in the vicinity. The road closure forced bus companies and commuter traffic to divert their routes at peak time.

The incident was caused by an excavator hitting a service pipe to the CTU. The police were informed by an on-duty officer at 2:20pm but it was another 25 minutes before a call-out team was sent by National Grid to repair the leak. By this time the road had been closed to motorists and residents nearby told to evacuate their homes. Students and staff working in the CTU or Medical School buildings were told to evacuate at 3:00pm and were told by University sources to wait for “at least the next hour.”

The repair work was finished at 5:30pm, once the flow had been regulated and checks carried out. The advice given by police in the meantime was to “keep windows closed”, as the gas had permeated air for a couple of miles surrounding the leak.

The impact on bus services was substantial, with the U1 Unibus and the 12 Travel Coventry services forced to avoid the road for many hours, adding over an hour onto some journey times as they used the congested A45 route. As a consequence, traffic was heavy for several hours afterwards.

The excavator believed to be responsible for the leak belonged to the construction company Stepnell. The Medical School have contracted the company to build an extension to the existing CTU facility.

According to eyewitness accounts, the leak was a major concern as the service pipe disrupted is a mains supply of gas to the buildings affected. One observer, temporary receptionist Pat, said: “I was choking all the next day – the fumes were really strong.”

One Biology student, Nick, was on his way to a lecture when he realised something was wrong. “I came up the hill [Gibbet Hill] and there was a strong smell of gas…. When I got into the lecture theatre the lecturer said there was a gas leak…. About three quarters of the way through the lecture the fire alarm sounded and we were told to go home.”

The process of evacuation was generally quite swift and effective for students, but for staff less so. Pat described proceedings: “They evacuated the CTU and the Medical Teaching building and all the people came to [the Medical School] … an hour later everyone was evacuated.” Staff were then advised to go home, as the leak would not be fixed before they finished.

However, Alan Cook, a porter at the Medical School, spoke of the new problems created: “They had blocked off the main entrance to the campus so only those on foot or in small cars could leave along the bridle path – they said the bridge couldn’t support the weight of heavy cars.”

The CTU was kept largely uninformed, with its manager, Dr Sarah Duggan, responding that “The gas leak was not from the CTU… I therefore do not have full details of the event.” The university security personnel were responsible for organising on-campus evacuation and their awareness of the leak was noted early on in the day.

Sarah Wilcox, Press Officer for National Grid at its regional base in Warwick, said that the repair job was a complicated one. “It took us until 9:15pm that evening to back up the [gas] meter before the University could do its own internal checks.”

This was verified by the University insite’s statement: “We expect the site to be reopened in the morning, but if the situation changes, further updates will be provided.”

“It’s just one of those things,” said Cox. “It happens all the time in this kind of work.”

According to the National Grid and West Midlands Police, no complaints have yet been received about the gas leak or the disruption caused. Those suffering related health problems are advised to consult a healthcare professional.