Cold Call: UMBC Gas Leak Prompts Emergency Response

It sounded worse than it was--a report of a gas leak in the Chemistry Building at UMBC that triggered the response of several pieces of firefighting equipment, including ambulances and a Hazmat team.

Chill out. It was just a leaky tank of liquid nitrogen, according to officials.

Baltimore County Fire Department received the call at 11:47 p.m. Tuesday night, according to the department's dispatch office.

Paul Dillon, deputy chief of UMBC police, said that there were no injuries or property damage from the incident.

The tank of nitrogen posed no risk to anybody, although in an enclosed space, the gas could theoretically cause asphyxiation, he said.

With a boiling point of -351 degrees F, the biggest danger presented by leaking liquid nitrogen is freezing tissues, according to Dillon.

Emergency crews "moved the tank outside and let it run dry," he said.