A boiler imploded in the basement School of Business just before 3 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Associate Vice President of Public Relations John Morgan. According to Hamden Fire Marshal Dennis Harrison, the implosion was due to a buildup of gas in the boiler. Wednesday, state boiler inspectors, along with the Hamden Fire Department, facilities workers and a Hamden building official will determine what the exact ignition source was, Harrison said.

[media-credit name=”Matt Eisenberg” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]

According to Morgan, students and professors evacuated the building immediately and no one was hurt. Three facilities workers were replacing a different boiler next to the one that imploded at the time of the implosion, Harrison said. These facilities workers were sent to the Yale-New Haven Hospital Occupational Health Plus/Worker Health Solutions occupational health facilities as a precaution, Morgan said. The boiler was located in the north side of the building, and there is no structural damage.

Associate Professor of Journalism Margarita Diaz was in her office at the time of the implosion.

“I heard a very loud bang,” Diaz said. “Then a few seconds later the alarms went off and we started getting people out of the building.”

Senior Eliza Dox was also present in the building.

“Everyone went quiet . Fire alarms started going off and it was a mad dash out the door,” Dox said. “I thought it was a bomb because of everything that’s been going on.”