AMHERST — People inside the Bangs Community Center were briefly evacuated Tuesday morning after a small amount of natural gas entered the building.
Fire Chief Tim Nelson said firefighters responded to the Boltwood Walk building at 9:36 a.m. after employees noticed a rotten egg-like smell of natural gas.
Firefighters determined that contractors working in the Musante Health Center in the building’s lower level were purging gas and clearing out the line when some escaped into the building.
“What they got was a whiff of gas,” Nelson said.
The smell was exacerbated because of the warm day and several windows being open in the offices of the Senior Center, Center for New Americans and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.
Because no leak occurred, the scene was cleared in 15 minutes.
John Imbimbo, municipal facilities coordinator, said he opened several doors to vent the building and cautioned people entering about the smell, observing they would likely have to put up with the odor for a while.
“We did what we could,” Imbimbo said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
