No gas leak has been found in Swearingen annex authorities say, after students were forced to evacuate the USC building Tuesday afternoon at around 1 p.m. according to The State.
Columbia Fire Department spokesman Brick Lewis said that none of the HAZMAT teams or firefighters could find any source of a gas leak after sweeping the entire building. Shortly before the evacuation, several USC students and faculty claimed to have smelled an odor inside the annex.
At 1:16 p.m. Carolina Alert tweeted, "Possible gas leak at 300 S. Main. Building and streets blocked. Please avoid area."
During the evacuation and subsequent sweep of the building, authorities shut down Sumter, Main, Whaley and Catawba streets to keep traffic away from the building perimeter.
All exams held in the building have been postponed, according to some of the evacuated students. The false alarm lies at the end of the second exam week for USC, with the final tests being administered on Wednesday the 6th.
Some students are using the extra time to cram some more before the big tests, while another lamented that delayed exams would hinder Cinco de Mayo celebrations planned later in the day.
An investigation into the incident will be conducted by USC Health and Safety officials and is pending.
—James Stewart, News Editor