San Jose City Hall Evacuated, Checked For Gas Leak

SANTA CLARA VALLEY, CA — San Jose City Hall was evacuated for about an hour this morning because someone smelled gas, but firefighters and utility workers detected no gas inside and the building re-opened, a spokesman said. The fire department got a call around 9:18 a.m. Tuesday saying someone smelled gas inside City Hall, and the evacuation was ordered shortly after that, Fire Captain Mitch Matlow said.

"The fire department and PG&E checked all 18 floors of the building and found no gas leak," Matlow said.

The building re-opened around 10:15 a.m., he said.

"Our people smelled gas outside" the building, so PG&E is now checking the lines that run from the PG&E main to inside City Hall to make sure there is no leak in those lines, Matlow said.

The fire captain explained that just because someone smells gas does not mean there is danger.

"Some noses can detect a tiny amount of mercaptan, a gas that is deliberately put into natural gas so it can be smelled," Matlow said. "It requires a much greater concentration than that to be a hazard."

By Bay City News Service

Image via San Jose Fire Department