Second hydrogen alarm sounds in a week

The Boston University Police Department, Boston Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety responded Wednesday to an alarm in the Photonics Center, marking the second such incident in a week.

The fire alarm was pulled to clear the area after a hydrogen alarm sounded, BUPD officials said.

‘We got a call at 3:20 in the morning. It came in as a fire alarm,’ BUPD spokesman Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said. ‘We met with Buildings and Grounds and Environmental Health and Safety and we were told at the scene that it was a hydrogen alarm.’

Officers at the scene pulled the fire alarm to remove people from the building and from any potential danger, he said.

‘Buildings and Grounds and Environmental Health and Safety were already there and they decided to pull the fire alarm because they were investigating an alarm that turned out to be a hydrogen alarm,’ he said. ‘As a result, they pulled the fire alarm to evacuate the building.’

BU spokesman Colin Riley said the incident is still under investigation and Environmental Health and Safety has yet to make an official determination on the cause of the sounding of the alarm.

‘They’re looking at it and once they make the determination they’ll assure that it won’t leak and they’ll be able to go on from there,’ Riley said. ‘It’s premature to make a determination.’

The incident marks the second possible hydrogen scare in a week at the Photonics Center after officials responded to a confirmed leak last week.

‘There was another one Friday night,’ St. Hilaire said.

Riley said hydrogen problems are not typical, but the area is safe.

‘It’s unusual,’ he said. ‘[But] there’s no hazard . . . the hydrogen is off. The Office of Environmental Health and Safety along with the Boston Fire Department will investigate along with consultants.

‘The good thing was the alarm sounded and the building was evacuated,’ he said.