Gas Leak Trouble At Naito?

Ever since September, students living in Natio have had to deal with the putrid smell of gas interrupting their daily lives. This is due to a gas leak that has been only partially fixed by the closure of the gas release valve, a safety mechanism put into buildings to prevent fiery explosions. 

Prior to this, the students of Natio were reporting symptoms of gas poisoning before this leak was even reported. Maintenance workers came to the third floor of the building to place outward-facing fans in windows to filter out the smell once these reports started coming in. Students were reminded not to smoke indoors, which is the policy for the dorm, but now poses an actual threat due to the possibility that an explosion could occur. HA’s then encouraged students to sleep in the common rooms of other dorms until the gas release valve was closed. Maintenance staff was then sighted clearing bushes away from the base of the dorm to increase ventilation and circulation.

As of right now, this has been Reed’s only response to the situation, since no new updates have been provided. Reedie and Natio resident Soap Khan ‘26 was rightfully disturbed about this situation and reached out to Maintenance for answers and to the Quest to report on the situation. Maintenance responded to them, saying they would provide a contractor to change this gas system all together to completely get rid of the smell, but did not provide insight as to how this would be done, and confirmed that their removal of the vegetation from the base of the dorm was being done for ventilation and circulation. They also requested that Khan keep their window closed for the time being due to the fact that the exhaust vents are in close proximity to their room. 

Khan received this update on September 22, and let the Quest know that they had not received any updates on the situation since, and neither has the student body. According to the International Building Code, a bedroom must contain at least one window that is able to be used for escape in case of a fire, and if Khan must keep their window closed, this temporary solution effectively breaks this code. Due to the severity and possible health risks involved in this situation, Natio residents are quite literally holding their breath until a more permanent solution to this problem is found, or one that has been implemented is shared.