Small gas ‘burp’ prompts Elk Meadow Elementary evacuation

(Update: Fire officials call it transient gas emission — ‘burp’; letter sent to parents)

Firefighters responded to Elk Meadow Elementary School in southwest Bend Wednesday morning after the smell of natural gas prompted evacuation of the school. An investigation found it was what’s called a transient gas emission — a “burp.”

Officials said teachers smelled the “rotten egg” odor that’s added to odorless and colorless natural gas both inside and outside the school off Brookswood Boulevard around 8:30 a.m.

All of the students were safely evacuated and were returning to class less than an hour later, officials said.

Bend Fire officials said at the scene they believe there was a minor issue with the gas system and were investigating further.

Battalion Chief Dave Howe said some of the evacuated youngsters were placed in school buses to keep them warm on the chilly morning.

One bus that travels to Elk Meadow after a stop at Pine Ridge Elementary stayed at Pine Ridge instead until the all-clear was issued, Bend-La Pine Schools spokeswoman Julianne Repman said.

Howe later said Cascade Natural Gas personnel and Bend Fire crews determined the order originated in a transient gas emission, known as a “burp,” from the gas equipment on site. They found no detectable amount of gas in the structure.

The battalion chief said “the evacuation was handled in an orderly and calm fashion,” and advised it’s important to call 911 whenever you small unexplained gas in a building, so it can be checked out.

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Here’s a letter sent home to parents later Wednesday by school officials:

Elk Meadow Families,

This morning, prior to the start of school, our staff noticed what they believed to be the faint smell of natural gas in and around our building. Emergency responders investigated and deemed the smell a result of a gas ‘burp’. The Bend Fire Department says gas lines include a safety mechanism which blows out excess pressurized gas, resulting in a ‘burp’. Officials say that this issue was isolated to a single location and that there was no threat to students or staff as a result of the ‘burp’.

As emergency responders investigated the source of the smell, we used our evacuation protocol to move students and staff out of the building and to safe places. Our youngest students were boarded onto buses to keep them warm, while our older students moved to a play field a safe distance away.

All students and staff returned to class at about 9:20 a.m., after emergency responders deemed the school ready to re-enter. While today started with some excitement, we are already back into our daily groove and students and staff are having a great day.

All Bend-La Pine Schools, including Elk Meadow, practice evacuation/fire drills every month (ten a year). You might like to talk to your student tonight about what they learned during this event. This could be a good teachable moment and opportunity to talk about natural gas, your home fire alarms, your evacuation plans, or where you all will meet if you ever need to leave your home due to gas leak, fire, or another emergency.

Again, we want to thank our staff, students and volunteers who were inside the building before school for doing an amazing job of following our evacuation safety protocol. And a huge thank you to parents who showed great patience as we changed our drop off procedures during the event.

Thank you for your continued support of Elk Meadow Elementary School.

Sincerely,

Kelle Hildebrant, principal Frank Hanson, assistant principal