Oracle reveals the truth behind Thursday’s gas leak – The new Paltz Oracle

Oracle reveals the truth behind Thursday’s gas leak – The new Paltz Oracle

By Kyle Bredberg and Sara Vala, Sara Vala, Kyle Bredberg
Publication Date: 2026-02-11 15:00:00

Workers outside Shawangunk Hall assess the gas main outage Thursday morning. Photo courtesy of Cassidy Brock

Early Thursday morning, students were evacuated from all buildings in Peregrine Quad due to a main gas outage near the buildings. The main break leaked gas into the dorms and dining hall, filling the buildings with a strong smell of gas.

The largest break was caused when a 2-inch natural gas pipe was struck at the southeast corner of Peregrine Dining Hall at 8:58 a.m. during routine snow removal by the university. The leak was then reported to university police before 9:00 a.m

All students were alerted to the main break in a campus-wide text message at 9:33 a.m. This was followed by a campus-wide email at 9:38 a.m. urging students to seek shelter in other open buildings across campus.

The university attributed this delay to the fact that a full assessment of the situation was carried out before raising the alarm…