Campus Alert Archive
Liberty

Smoke From Green Hall Drains Was Just Liberty Testing Its Sanitary System

VAotheradvisoryhigh confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On January 23, 2024, Liberty University issued an LU Alert advising the campus community that smoke seen coming from drains in Green Hall was part of a planned test of the building's sanitary (sewer) system. The smoke was non-toxic and posed no risk, and the alert was intended to prevent unnecessary 911 calls or alarm.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Liberty University
Private Masters · VA
~16,131 studentsLU Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimLiberty University Security & Public Safety official alert archive, January 23, 2024 (text confirmed via search snippet from the official page)236 chars
LU Alert: Campus Alert: Liberty University will be conducting a test of the sanitary system in Green Hall today. You may see smoke coming from drains, but It is non-toxic and poses no risk. The test will be conducted throughout the day.
Verbatim text confirmed via the official Liberty University Security & Public Safety alert archive page (lu-alert-campus-alert-15); the capitalized 'It' in 'but It is non-toxic' is preserved as published
Lynchburg is on Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5) in January
This is an advisory rather than an emergency notification: it pre-empts false alarms about a benign, planned activity rather than warning of a threat
Context

Background

Liberty University is a large private Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, with a deputized police department and the LU Alert mass-notification system used for road closings, weather, and life-threatening situations. Not every alert is an emergency: on January 23, 2024, Liberty issued an LU Alert about a planned sanitary-system test in Green Hall producing non-toxic smoke from building drains. Smoke testing is a standard plumbing diagnostic that forces theatrical (but harmless) smoke through sewer lines to find leaks; without notice it can trigger fire-emergency 911 calls. The advisory is a useful example of how campus alert systems are also used proactively to suppress false alarms, a contrast to Liberty's documented bomb-threat and severe-weather protocols. It joins the archive's small set of 'non-event' advisories that show the full range of what mass-notification systems carry.
Analysis

Key Findings

The alert was a proactive advisory to prevent false fire-emergency calls about benign smoke-testing of the sewer system
Liberty explicitly characterized the Green Hall smoke as non-toxic and no-risk
It illustrates that campus alert systems carry routine advisories, not only threat notifications
Outcome
No emergency existed; the smoke was a deliberate, non-toxic component of a sanitary-system test. The advisory reassured the community and prevented misdirected fire-emergency reports.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    LU Alert: Campus Alert (January 23, 2024) - Liberty University Security & Public Safety
    liberty.edu
  2. Official
    Campus Alert System - Liberty University Police Department
    liberty.edu
  3. Official
    Emergency Plans - Liberty University Security & Public Safety
    liberty.edu
Tags
advisorysmoke-testnon-eventchristian-universityvirginiafalse-alarm-preventionUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated June 2026Via ingestion