Stewart Elementary evacuated due to gas leak

    Stewart Elementary was evacuated Wednesday night because of a gas leak near the building. The evacuation occurred at about 5:30 p.m., a few hours after class was dismissed. The leak was fixed and class resumed as scheduled Thursday. 

    Middle School Principal Kurt Mayer was in the school at the time the evacuation order was given. He was there for a SINA review meeting (Schools in Need of Assistance) for Stewart Elementary. He said someone in the building approached him to ask him if he could smell gas, and he said he could. He said an employee of the geothermal company was the first to notice the leak and dialed 911.

    Mayer said the only people in the building at the time were those who were there for the SINA meeting. The school board meeting that was to occur that night in Stewart was moved to the administration building.

    Mayer said the gas leak occurred on the west side of the building from a gas regulator. The Washington Fire Department and Alliant Energy responded to the scene. He said Alliant found the leak and fixed the regulator that night. Mayer said that most of the gas dispersed in the outdoor air and that only trace amounts of it entered the building. He said the gas leak did not put anyone in danger.

    ?It didn?t take them long to fix the leak,? said Mayer. 

    Earlier that day, construction crews dug up asphalt from the playground near the site of the leak. Mayer said they don?t yet know if that was related to the leak or if the regulator simply malfunctioned.

For more, see our Oct. 14 print edition.