Classes and labs at LSU’s Digital Media building were abruptly cleared out Monday after an alert flagged elevated gas readings, forcing an immediate evacuation of the busy campus facility. University crews and environmental health staff were sent in to check the air and track down the problem, and the building is staying closed while testing continues.
In a statement, LSU said elevated CO2 levels were detected in the Digital Media Building, triggering a full evacuation, as reported by WDSU. LSU Environmental Health and Safety and Facility Services were dispatched to, in the school’s words, "assist in clearing the building and determining the cause." The first public alert about the incident surfaced on social media via WVUE FOX 8.
Conflicting accounts about the alarm
Local outlets did not quite agree on what, exactly, set off the warning. WAFB reported that the notice cited elevated CO2 levels in the Digital Media building. By contrast, WBRZ said the Digital Media Center was evacuated after alerts for excessive carbon monoxide that a university spokesman tied to a potentially faulty boiler. As of Monday, campus officials had not publicly clarified which sensor or reading actually triggered the alarm.
About the Digital Media building
The Digital Media Center is home base for LSU’s Digital Media Arts & Engineering program and the Center for Computation & Technology. Inside are production studios, labs, and a 4K theater, making it one of the campus hotspots for tech and media coursework, according to Digital Media Arts & Engineering at LSU. Because the building houses active classrooms and labs, the university opted to clear everyone out as a precaution while environmental testing plays out.
How to get updates
LSU has asked people to steer clear of the area and said the Digital Media building will stay off limits until Environmental Health and Safety and Facilities give the all clear, according to local reporting. For official updates and any broader campus impacts, students, faculty, and staff are being directed to monitor the university’s emergency notification system and social channels, per the LSUalert System.
