BREAKING: Lora Robins Court evacuated following gas leak

Residents in the University of Richmond’s Lora Robins Court were evacuated at approximately 9:45 a.m due to a gas leak in the third residence hall emergency to displace students this month.

The leak was caused by an external underground tank that is not connected to Lora Robins, according to the University of Richmond Police Department. The crews will burn off the gas throughout the day, which is a way of reducing the pressure to make the area safer. 

A Critical UR Alert was sent campus-wide wide telling students to evacuate the building and stay away from the residence hall until further notice. 

Residents were ushered out of the building by URPD and told to grab all of their belongings for the day. 

URPD said that the evacuation order could last up to 24 hours, but no estimated time has been given. Residents will be allowed back inside whenever the Richmond Fire Department gives the all-clear, according to URPD.

“We’re going to go under the guides of the fire department. We will keep the community informed of what is going on through university communications,” UR Chief of Police Dave McCoy said. “Right now we’re just focussed on scope and how to contain [the leak].”

Two Richmond fire trucks arrived on the scene approximately 25 minutes after the alert. They quickly blocked the entrances to the building with yellow caution tape.

“We’re double-checking to make sure everyone is out and we’ll work through that inconvenience to make sure everyone is safe,” McCoy said. 

Students who were in the building during the incident described the urgency of the evacuation. RA’s emphasized to their residents over GroupMe messages, “[y]ou need to evacuate Lora Robins Court immediately. This isn’t a drill.”

As of 11:15 a.m., the building is still locked down as emergency personnel try to patch the leak. 

Students who need essential items like medication can contact URPD for assistance. 

“[A URPD officer] said to come back at noon,” first-year Kolby Brown said after she tried to reenter Lora Robins to retrieve her medication. “If it’s not fixed by then, he’ll go up and grab it for me.”

Numerous residents noticed a sulfur smell this morning that even permeated outside of the building towards the Westhampton Center and the Lora Robins back parking lot near the University Forest Apartments. 

This is a developing story

Contact lifestyle editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu and news writer Jessica Khan at jessica.khan@richmond.edu