Campus Alert Archive
BYU

An Open Valve Released Ammonia at BYU's Culinary Support Center

UThazmatemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On February 24, 2025, ammonia escaped at Brigham Young University's Culinary Support Center in Provo when a valve was left open during maintenance, forcing an evacuation. BYU Police, BYU EMS and Provo Fire responded after dispatch received the report just before 1 p.m. As many as seven student employees reported minor symptoms, but none required transport to a hospital, and the building was returned to service the same day.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Brigham Young University
Private R1 · UT
Y-Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction154 chars
Y-Alert: Evacuate the Culinary Support Center due to an ammonia leak. Leave the building immediately and move upwind. Avoid the area until further notice.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: KJZZ and KUTV reported BYU Police dispatch received the report just before 1 p.m. MST and the building was evacuated, but the precise Y-Alert text was not archived publicly.
The leak occurred while maintenance crews were replacing a valve in the Culinary Support Center and ammonia escaped when the valve was left open.
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction156 chars
Y-Alert: All clear. Provo Fire has cleared the Culinary Support Center and it is back in service. There is no longer a hazard. Normal operations may resume.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: KUTV reported Provo Fire and Rescue cleared the area and the building was back in service the same afternoon.
This is a genuine all-clear: it declared the hazard resolved and the building reoccupiable, lifting the evacuation.
Context

Background

The February 24, 2025 ammonia release at Brigham Young University illustrates an industrial-hazard category that rarely makes national news but is common on campuses with large food-production facilities. The BYU Culinary Support Center in Provo prepares food for campus dining, and ammonia is widely used as an industrial refrigerant. According to KJZZ, ammonia escaped when a valve was left open during maintenance, and KUTV reported BYU Police dispatch received the call just before 1 p.m. MST, drawing BYU EMS and Provo Fire to the scene. Up to seven student employees reported minor symptoms but none were hospitalized, and the facility returned to service the same day. BYU's Y-Alert system handles these emergency notifications for the private, church-affiliated R1 institution.
Analysis

Key Findings

Ammonia escaped at BYU's Culinary Support Center when a valve was left open during maintenance on February 24, 2025
Up to seven student employees reported minor symptoms, but none required transport to a hospital
BYU Police, BYU EMS and Provo Fire responded after a report just before 1 p.m. MST, and the building was returned to service the same day
The case shows campus emergency notifications addressing industrial-refrigerant hazards at food-production facilities, not just crime or weather
Outcome
Provo Fire cleared the area and the Culinary Support Center was returned to service. Up to seven student employees reported minor symptoms; no one was transported for medical care.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    BYU's Culinary Support Center evacuated due to ammonia gas leak - KJZZ
    kjzz.com
  2. News
    BYU's Culinary Support Center evacuated due to ammonia gas leak - KUTV
    kutv.com
  3. Official
    Culinary Support Center - BYU Dining
    dining.byu.edu
Tags
hazmatammoniautahprivate-universityevacuationemergency-notification
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion