The opening of the Bearcat Grille in the New Union on Oct. 12 was probably a happy event for many students and faculty members, but for the people working below, it was a big inconvenience.
Minutes after the opening, the offices in the basement of the New Union were filled with smoke and fumes from the operating grill above.
Beth Ann Lubert, the assistant director of the Binghamton University Foundation, was supposed to conduct a training session in the Telefund Center, located in WB14, that day.
“When I came in there was blue smoke in the room (and) the smell was overpowering,” she said.
Lubert contacted the building facilities manager and was told that they were working on the problem. She did not close the office and continued with her work.
“It didn’t affect anybody physically or interfere with the work,” she said.
However some people were bothered by the fumes.
“We had about four people fill out accident reports,” said Darlene Manehester, call center manager. “They got headaches and left early.”
Manehester contacted Physical Facilities to report the leak and said that they were at the scene within the hour.
“They cleaned the ventilation system right away and it has been better ever since,” she added.
Karen Fennie, spokeswoman for Physical Facilities, said that there had been similar problems in the past, but that they were more minor.
“We found some gaps in the insulation around the duct work,” she said. “(But) the weather also played a role. (It was) raining that day and there wasn’t a lot of air movement. The smoke was lingering on the roof and then coming back down.”
Fennie said that Physical Facilities temporarily corrected the gaps and they are currently looking at the overall design in order to make long term changes.
Bob Griffin, marketing manager for Sodexho dining services, said that it is no longer a problem and that they are currently satisfied.
“We are monitoring the situation and working with school administration to make sure that it doesn’t happen again, and if it does, we will resolve it,” he said.
Although the problem has been alleviated in the New Union office, the smell of the barbecue fumes persists in the building.
“We can still smell it, [although there] is not the same intensity to the odor as that day,” Lubert said. “If they worked on ventilation, it probably would be better for other building tenants.”