At approximately 7:30 PM on Saturday, September 27th, the University Commons was evacuated. Hartford Fire Department was called onto the scene, and caution tape was set up, surrounding the building. A Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) Team was brought in to check out the lower levels of the buildings.

“The Department of Public Safety received an alarm for the building which was for a refrigerant leaking and we called the Fire Department. They came out, they cleared the building, and the building is back to normal. It was a false alarm.” said Public Safety Corporal Elijah Waldo.

Though the Commons Dining Hall was closed to students at the time of the evacuation, Hawk’s Nest, located on the lower level of the building, was still open. The restaurant reopened immediately after the Hartford FD had given the ‘all-clear.’

The evacuation comes less than a week after two reports of gas leaks led to the building being evacuated twice on Sunday, September 21st. These evacuations were reported to be due to a few bugs in the new equipment in Commons, which over the summer went through a $10 million renovation.

There is no connection between the two evacuations on the 21st and the one on the 27th.

The University Commons continues to operate on its normal dining schedule.