Was woken up at 4:45 and led the emergency response on track

On Tuesday morning, Health employees and students were met by numerous emergency vehicles and police cordons in the University Park.

Many arrived to a somewhat chaotic scene with evacuated buildings and unclear information about what was happening.

This caused confusion on campus, where activities and classes were canceled as authorities worked to get an overview of the situation. The evacuation was due to suspicion of a chemical leak after 23 students had sought medical attention the previous day with similar symptoms.

For Conor Leerhøy head of Health Building Services, the day began as early as 4:45 AM, when he received a call from the Operations Director at BSS, who had a crisis manager on the line.

'They wanted to know if we could have been responsible for the symptoms experienced by some students, and I immediately responded that we could not, because I was certain there were no chemicals in the Bartholin Building, which was the focus at that time,' he says.

'But I got dressed and rushed up here to check all our facilities with Health’s Operations Director to make absolutely sure we weren’t the cause of it all, and we inspected all the places where we handle chemicals,' the head of building services adds.

Soon, the emergency response’s attention turned to the Lake Auditoriums, which Health has been responsible for maintaining for many years. Conor Leerhøy was able to assist by identifying ventilation and extraction systems.

According to the head of building services, the cooperation with various emergency units went well, and they systematically worked to rule out potential risks.

While the emergency services and building management worked to get an overview of the situation, there was clear confusion among the many students and staff stopped by the cordons on Vennelyst Boulevard during the early morning hours.

Early reports in the media and on the university’s website varied, and students and staff with activities planned in the affected buildings were unsure how to proceed.

Conor Leerhøy understands why the situation may have caused confusion on campus.

'At one point, there was a report that the entire University Park had been evacuated, but that wasn’t true. This created confusion because people didn’t know whether to stay home or enter the buildings. It was a bit unfortunate because that kind of information spreads quickly, but luckily, we got it under control,' he says.

He quickly became aware that the whole situation was unlikely to be caused by a chemical leak, but by something entirely different and much less dangerous.

This realization came when authorities dismissed the reports that the affected students had experienced breathing difficulties, confirming that the symptoms were only itching and stinging in the eyes.

'At that moment, I knew it had something to do with UV light, and I talked to BSS’s Operations Director, who asked if it could be related to the UV system installed during the pandemic. It turned out that the system had been activated due to a technical fault,' Conor Leerhøy explains.

By that time, the building manager sensed that everyone involved in the emergency response was becoming calmer. However, investigations on campus continued for several more hours to rule out any other scenarios.

'There’s a process that begins, but by then, the emergency response team was much more at ease. Still, they followed their plan and were very professional in the way they worked,' says Conor Leerhøy.

After several hours of thorough investigations of the Lake Auditoriums and BSS’s cafeteria, the emergency services were finally able to confirm on Tuesday afternoon that there was no chemical leak, but rather a technical fault in the cafeteria’s UV disinfection system.

At a press conference, Chief Consultant Niels-Christian Emmertsen from the Prehospital Unit in the Central Denmark Region explained that the students had experienced so-called 'welders' eyes,' and that the symptoms would subside after 1-2 days.

University Director Kristian Thorn thanked the emergency services for their efforts in University Park.

'The police and others responded in large numbers, and it was clear that the police were taking no chances. This is highly commendable, and we are grateful for their decisive action and cooperation,' he said, while also expressing regret to the staff and students who were disturbed by the commotion.