William Porayouw, Contributing Photographer

A gas leak on Wednesday had some students still on campus for fall break on high alert.

In a Wednesday email sent out to students at 9:49 a.m, the University alerted the Yale community that there was a gas leak by Phelps Gate. The New Haven Fire Department, alongside Southern CT Gas, investigated the leak. The email instructed students residing in Phelps, Welch and Lawrance Halls to evacuate the premises until 1:00 p.m.

“If you are in one of these buildings, please evacuate immediately,” the email read.

Over an hour later, the University sent out a second email alerting students to the investigators’ process. Additional repairs were made to repair the leak and restore power to the buildings. In the meantime, students were told that Phelps Gate and College Street, from Elm Street to Chapel Street, would remain closed.

Benjamin Jimenez ’26, who resides in Lawrance Hall, described to the News what happened after they were alerted to evacuate at around 9 a.m.o announcement.

“We waited outside for about a couple of minutes,” Jimenez said. “And then we realized that it was a gas leak. So it was actually something dangerous.”

Camila Young ’26 said that she heard an alarm come in from the hallway alerting her to evacuate.

“I threw on a sweatshirt, I threw on some shoes, and I went outside,” Young said. She also noted that she saw other students come out of their dorms in their pajamas.

Drew Kim ’26 told the News that security guards told students that they had to “get out” of their hall.

“Everyone kind of scattered [to] our dining halls to eat breakfast,” Kim said. “It definitely seemed to take a while.”

Jimenez said that students who had a “valid excuse” — such as those who needed to catch a plane to go home — were able to go back to their Old Campus suite while the fire department investigated the gas leak. But since he had no plans to go home, he did not have a reason to go back to his suite before 1 p.m.

Young, however, did have travel plans for October break — and was allowed to pick up some things from her dorm. A chaperone escorted her to her room, but warned her to hurry as the fire department investigated the leak.

Old Campus is located between Elm, College, High and Chapel Streets