A gas leak was detected on the Stanislaus State campus by the greenhouse Tuesday after a main line was struck during construction of the new child development center. The leak drew police and fire who cordoned off the downdraft area of the gas in parking lot 11 directly in front of the greenhouse and adjacent to Naraghi Hall around 9:30 a.m. 
A caution alert was sent to the entire campus community by text and email.
By 11:15 a.m. the source of the leak had been stopped and gas was shut off to the entire campus as a precaution, according to Tim Overgaauw, senior director facilities operations and construction at Stan State. 
Overgaauw said a construction crew working at the site hit a small branch line that was left for future extension which cracked the line at the fitting. He said a contractor was on his way to Modesto to get the parts needed to fix the break, and it should be repaired within an hour.
“Then facilities crew members will go around and look at every gas appliance, make sure the pilots are lit, make sure everything is functioning correctly,” he said. “It’s unexpected, but the fix is probably more noticeable than the break, for most people,”
Campus protocol for gas leaks include evacuating the area and stopping the leak in the least invasive way possible by working backward through the valves. When that isn’t possible, which was the case today, according to Overgaauw, the next step is shutting off gas to the entire campus.
“When we’re not able to get to the valves we need in a quick enough time, we shut off gas at the main, and that’s what we had to do today,” he said.  
Buildings dependent on gas include science classes in Naraghi Hall as well as dining services like the Warrior Grill, which was unable to use some of its appliances to cook certain menu items for a short time.
The community was encouraged to remain cautious near the construction area around the greenhouse. 
At 12:55 p.m. an email was sent to the campus community that gas has been restored on campus. 
According to an email from Capitol Planning & Facilities Maintenance, any issues found to be related to the disruption should be addressed by calling their office at (209) 667-3211.