LAKEPORT ? Employees and visitors were evacuated Friday morning from the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport because of reports of a possible gas leak.
People inside the building smelled gas because the building”s air conditioning system was pulling carbon monoxide into the building from an overfilled exhaust pipe on top of the building, according to Buildings and Grounds Superintendent Robert Allen. He said a fire technician found a minute amount of the gas in a first-floor stairwell, but not at an unsafe level.
“There was not a real, immediate danger because they caught it quickly and shut it down. The pungent odor of propane was what they were smelling,” Lakeport Fire Protection District Captain Bob Holbrook said.
Propane is used to ignite the courthouse”s diesel-fueled boiler, which heats water that is looped throughout the building to provide heat. Allen said the propane is usually lit for 30 seconds at a time, but stayed lit when a faulty valve failed to open.
“It was sitting there burning like a torch,” Allen said.
Partially burned propane built up in the building”s exhaust stack and came out on the roof. It was then sucked back in through the fresh air ventilation system, which Allen said was being used as an economic way to cool the building during warm weather that morning.
Holbrook was at the scene with Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells, who was the incident commander. The fire department responded to an automated 9-1-1 call that was made when someone inside the building pulled the alarm, according to Allen. Holbrook said the evacuation lasted half an hour, and employees returned after the building was ventilated as a precaution.
“We checked for levels of combustible or flammable vapors after it was ventilated, and we got zero readings. Once the area was cleared, we let the occupants go back in,” Holbrook said.
The courthouse contracts with Ferrellgas in Lakeport for its propane. Ferrellgas General Manager Bob Hover said he was driving by with an employee when he saw people coming out of the courthouse “in droves” and stopped to investigate.
“We happened to be driving by and we saw people evacuating, so we went up to check the tank to make sure it was OK. It was pretty well orchestrated. Everyone evacuated quickly and quietly and we found the problem quickly and quietly,” Hover said.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com, or call her directly at 263-5636 ext. 37.
