NICC Calmar officials satisfied with response to gas smell

At 12:00 p.m. noon on Tuesday a gas smell was reported from the Max Clark Hall on the NICC Calmar campus.

The Calmar Police and Fire Departments as well as Black Hills Energy were called in to investigate the situation. All students in the building were evacuated and the building was secured.  The source of the smell was found and corrected.

At 12:34 p.m., a gas smell was also reported at Wilder Learning Resource Center.  As a precaution that building was also evacuated. Fireman quickly assessed that it was a false alarm and declared it safe for re-entry at 12:42 p.m.

Students were directed to the west side of campus, a safe distance from Max Clark Hall. People entering campus were directed around the back of campus away from Max Clark and others on campus were allowed to leave via the Highway 24 entrance

At 1:14 pm, the police and fire department and Black Hills Energy cleared Max Clark Hall for occupancy.

During the incident, the NICC Incident Command Team correctly responded by notifying emergency personnel and evacuating and securing the building from further entry.