Lawrence students back in class after gas evacuation
Students who had been evacuated yesterday from a Lawrence school complex returned to class after Columbia Gas and authorities determined an odor of gas was due to leaks from a boiler and a rooftop heater, rather than gas supply lines.
In separate tweets yesterday, Mayor Daniel Rivera and Lawrence Public Schools said the 1,100-student Parthum school complex’s evacuation was unrelated to last month’s gas-fueled explosions and fires, which killed one man and forced gas service to be shut off to thousands of people in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.
“This morning the Parthum school was evacuated and two other schools in North Lawrence reported gas smells,” Rivera tweeted. “These incidents are not related to the Gas Disaster of 9/13.”
Students were evacuated around 8:30 a.m. and bused to a nearby high school as a precaution.
But Steve Bryant, president and chief operating officer of Columbia Gas, said the odor at the Parthum school apparently had come from a rooftop heater.
“The air vent close to it brought the odor of gas into the building,” Bryant said. “There’s no risk.”
At the Arlington school, a crew preparing the boilers for winter “cleared the system of some gas, which caused people’s concerns,” Rivera tweeted.
No leak was found at either that school or the Oliver, according to the mayor, who noted that all three schools are in north Lawrence, while those affected by the Sept. 13 gas explosions and fires are on the city’s south side.
The evacuations nevertheless came at a time when city residents remain jittery as they cope with a lack of gas after the Columbia Gas system failure.
As the Herald reported yesterday, 321 families have been put up in hotels while they wait for gas service to return. Columbia is picking up that tab.
The city also is asking for donations to help residents who need to stay warm while the gas lines are being fixed.