Campus Alert Archive
USC

Twice-Swept and Never Identified: A Chemical Scare at 300 Main Street

SChazmatemergency notificationmedium confidence
UnfoundedNo evidence of an actual threat was found. The institutional response is documented because the alert communication is identical to what would occur during a real incident.

On the afternoon of February 20, 2013, the University of South Carolina evacuated a building at 300 Main Street — the College of Engineering and Information Technology Annex — after reports of a possible chemical leak. The Columbia Fire Department's hazardous-materials team swept the building twice but could not identify the chemical or locate its source. Occupants were allowed back inside before 4 p.m. and no injuries were reported.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of South Carolina
Public R1 · SC
~34,000 students
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction176 chars
Carolina Alert: The building at 300 Main Street has been evacuated due to a possible chemical leak. Avoid the area while emergency crews investigate. Further updates to follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed alert; WIS-TV reported the Columbia Fire Department was called 'just after 1 p.m.' and the building was evacuated for a possible chemical leak. USC's emergency-notification system is branded Carolina Alert.
Naming the specific building (300 Main Street, the College of Engineering and IT Annex) and instructing people to avoid the area is the actionable core of a hazmat evacuation alert.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction171 chars
Carolina Alert: The all-clear has been given for 300 Main Street. Hazmat crews found no identifiable hazard, and the building has reopened. Normal operations have resumed.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed all-clear; WIS-TV reported investigators 'swept the building twice and they could not determine what the chemical was' and 'people were allowed back into the building prior to 4 p.m.'
This is a genuine all-clear because it explicitly reopens the building and resumes normal operations, unlike an update that would keep people away.
Context

Background

The scare unfolded at 300 Main Street, the University of South Carolina's College of Engineering and Information Technology Annex in downtown Columbia. The Columbia Fire Department dispatched a hazardous-materials team just after 1 p.m. EST on February 20, 2013, and crews swept the building twice without identifying the chemical or its origin. Finding no threat, officials reopened the building before 4 p.m. with no injuries. The case is a representative example of the most common kind of campus hazmat alert: a precautionary evacuation triggered by an unexplained odor that resolves as unfounded within hours, testing a university's ability to issue both a prompt warning and a clean all-clear.
Analysis

Key Findings

Hazmat crews swept the building twice but never identified the chemical or its source, and the incident resolved as unfounded
The building was evacuated just after 1 p.m. and reopened before 4 p.m. the same afternoon with no injuries
The case illustrates the routine precautionary-evacuation pattern that dominates campus hazmat notifications: prompt warning followed by a same-day all-clear
Outcome
Hazmat crews found no identifiable hazard after two sweeps; the building reopened the same afternoon with no injuries. The source of the reported odor was never determined.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    USC building reopened after evacuation for unknown chemical leak - WIS-TV
    wistv.com
Tags
hazmatsouth-carolinaevacuationchemical-leakunfoundedemergency-notificationUnfounded
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion