Photos: Santa Lucia evacuated to check air safety

Posted on January 26, 2015

Kyle McCarty

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The Santa Lucia residence hall was evacuated temporarily to check air safety after students reported feeling a burning sensation in their throats on Sunday night.

San Luis Obispo Fire Chief Garret Olson said the residence hall was triple-checked, and that there was no danger to students. Olson said the county hazmat team did its final sweep while not wearing protective masks.

Olson said the initial sweep detected a small amount of sewer gas, but it was not detected again on later sweeps.

Olson did not know what caused the symptoms students described. He said sewer gas was unlikely to produce the burning sensation some students reported.

“We’re uncertain what it was,” Olson said. “It could have been someone using cleaning chemicals, bleach or anything like that, but by the time we got here we weren’t getting any hazardous readings.”

Bryce Petersen, a mechanical engineering freshman, said he and his roommates felt a burning sensation in the back of their throats.

Petersen was checked by paramedics, who told him he was fine.