At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Monday, October 2, Ladd Library was evacuated due to a suspected gas leak.

Library staff informed students in the building of the potential gas leak and instructed them to promptly leave the building. Though students were surprised, there was a greater sense of confusion than of panic. Students filed out both the first floor and ground floor entrances. 

The college said in a statement to The Student that after the evacuation, “the Lewiston Fire Department was dispatched to inspect the space. Following a thorough check, it was determined that there was no gas leak and the building was deemed safe to re-open by 9:30 p.m.”

Though the college was unable to indicate the exact source of the gas smell that triggered the evacuation on Monday, it explained in a statement that the library maintains a “small boiler for domestic hot water and limited climate control purposes.” The gas boiler “may have created an odor that reached the air intake vent from outside the building,” the college said.

The evacuation displaced many students during their Monday night studying. Aanika Patel ’25 found herself displaced after leaving the library, realizing the amount of students that rely on the library to study. “I just didn’t realize this many people actually worked in the library. And when we all left, it was, like, herds and herds [of people].” She continued, “I realized how there aren’t as many study spots in other parts of campus… There are [study spots], but it’s not enough to hold the students, which is crazy.”

The college confirmed on Monday that “there is no safety issue” at this time, and that students should continue to use the library as normal.