False Alarm As OPD HQ Evacuated Over Smell Of Natural Gas

OAKLAND, CA — Numerous reports of natural gas odors along the Interstate Highway 880 corridor in Alameda County prompted an investigation by PG&E as well as the evacuation of the Oakland Police Department's downtown headquarters.

The first calls came in around 7:45 a.m. and the last call was around 9:30 a.m., according to utility spokeswoman Tamar Sarkissian.

They were from numerous locations in Oakland, Alameda and Fremont."We got out there shortly after the first call, and last I checked there were a handful of locations left that we're still checking," Sarkissian
said this afternoon.

"We are confident that there was no leak," she added.

In the past, similar incidents have occurred when vehicles like trucks, trains or barges traveled through an area while emitting a strong odor similar to that of natural gas, Sarkissian said.

The smell led to at least one evacuation when the Oakland Police Department got everybody out of their building at the corner of Seventh Street and Broadway before 10 a.m.

By 11:30 a.m., however, a police spokeswoman confirmed that fire crews and PG&E had determined the building was safe and let everyone back in.

"We take all gas-related issues seriously and encourage our customers to call us if they smell gas," Sarkissian said.

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— Bay City News; Image via PG&E