Campus Alert Archive
HACC

A Paving Crew Hits a Gas Main and the Library Empties

PAgas leakemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 5, 2015, a paving company struck a large gas line at Harrisburg Area Community College's Lancaster campus, in the 1600 block of Old Philadelphia Pike near Pitney Road. People in the campus library were evacuated as a precaution and a UGI Utilities crew responded. No one was injured.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Harrisburg Area Community College (Lancaster Campus)
Community College · PA
~17,000 studentsHAWK 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 ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction174 chars
HAWK Alert: A gas line has been struck near campus. The library and surrounding area are being evacuated. Avoid the area until further notice. Emergency crews are responding.

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

Reconstructed: the web environment blocks HACC's alert archive, so this paraphrases the documented 12:30 PM EDT gas-line strike and library evacuation on June 5, 2015.
The leak was caused by a paving company striking a gas line during roadwork near the campus, another instance of contractor activity triggering a gas hazard.
The library was the primary building evacuated, a common high-occupancy target even on a Friday in early June.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction149 chars
HAWK Alert: All clear. The gas line has been secured by utility crews and the area is safe. The library has reopened. Thank you for your cooperation.

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

Reconstructed all-clear: reporting confirmed a UGI Utilities crew responded to control the struck line, with no injuries, allowing the area to reopen.
This is a genuine all-clear lifting the evacuation after the utility secured the line.
Context

Background

Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) is Pennsylvania's largest community college, with the Lancaster campus situated along Old Philadelphia Pike in Lancaster County. On Friday, June 5, 2015, a paving company struck a large gas line near the campus around 12:30 p.m., prompting the evacuation of people in the library while a UGI Utilities crew responded. No one was injured. The incident fits a recurring pattern in this archive: contractor or grounds activity nicking a buried line, much like the lawnmower strike at Rowan University and the boiler-room leak at Kutztown. For an open-access community college serving a commuter population, a midday gas evacuation is a meaningful disruption, and the case illustrates how even comparatively low-profile two-year institutions rely on emergency-notification systems to move people quickly out of harm's way when a routine roadwork accident becomes a campus hazard.
Analysis

Key Findings

Roadwork by a paving contractor, not campus infrastructure failure, caused the gas leak — a recurring external-trigger pattern across campus gas incidents
The library was the primary high-occupancy building evacuated, even on an early-June Friday
UGI Utilities, not the college, secured the line and effectively governed the timing of the all-clear
An open-access two-year college runs the same evacuate-and-all-clear notification cycle as larger universities, despite far less media attention
Outcome
No injuries. A UGI Utilities crew responded to the struck gas line; evacuees were able to return once the leak was controlled.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Gas leak prompts evacuation at Harrisburg Area Community College - LancasterOnline
    lancasteronline.com
Tags
gas-leakevacuationemergency-notificationpennsylvaniacommunity-collegelibrary
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion