COLUMBIA, S.C. _ Columbia public safety officials ordered an evacuation of Allen Benedict Court public housing units on Harden Street following a gas leak that claimed the lives of two people, according to Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin.
Though the cause of death for the pair has not been officially determined, Benjamin said during a news conference that officials believe gas leaking at the Allen Benedict Court complex killed the two men.
Authorities found numerous gas leaks across the entire complex while investigating the Thursday deaths, Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins said.
"As we went through building after building ... we discovered that multiple units have gas leaks," Jenkins said. " ... We view this as an immediate danger to life."
As the announcement was made, Peter Williams moved his belongings from his unit into his car. He's lived in Allen Benedict Court _ a more than 80-year-old public housing complex _ for more than five years, he said.
"Everybody has to go," Williams said the authorities told him and others at Allen Benedict Court. "I got to pack what I can pack."
Jenkins said an inspection found that 65 units showed heightened levels of hazard gases. In total, 411 residents of the 26 buildings have been ordered to leave.
Williams said he'll be getting a hotel room for the night with money that's coming out of his pocket, though Benjamin said Friday afternoon that the city and the Housing Authority would be working with local hotels to find places for all the residents.
Authorities handed out flyers explaining the evacuation to residents of Allen Benedict Court and posted signs on the housing units saying the building were no longer habitable. At least three safety workers wore hazmat suits as they check inside of the units.
Williams said he had smell gas before in Allen Benedict Court and heard the complaints of others who said they experienced the issue as well. He's not had problems in his unit but said he was "very concerned" about the reported problem over the last four months.
The fire department had been called six times over those four months concerning odors that Williams could remember.
Columbia Fire officials responded to the complex seven times to the smell of gas during 2018, Jenkins said, adding that those calls in 2018 came from leaking stoves or hot water heaters.
Others living in the public housing community also said they've experience issues with odors, the smell becoming so severe for one man that he became dizzy and had to go to the hospital.
"I had to get up out of there," Rodricus Walker said.
Walker keeps his windows open to help with the nauseating smell. A woman close with him encountered issues while at Walker's home.
"It was just this smell you can't bear," Jamie Radden said. "It's been going on for a while."
Radden said she's called officials about the issue, who check on the problem, but nothing has ever been fixed. Walker also called the maintenance office, which is supervised by the Columbia Housing Authority.
Gilbert Walker, the executive director of the Columbia Housing Authority, which oversees Allen Benedict Court, said his agency has address issues of gas smells over the months and that the housing authority is required to take care of problems within 24 hours.
"We try to take care of problems as quick as we can," Walker said.
Jenkins said the units are not equipped with CO2 gas monitors and that such monitors are not required. Now, the fire department is recommending CO2 monitors be installed in every unit.
The Columbia Housing Authority has reserved 40 hotel rooms for residents and will be providing people with meals and transportation, Walker said. Anyone needing housing will receive it, according to Benjamin.
How long people will be out of their homes at Allen Benedict Court is unclear. Walkers called it the evacuation a "temporary action," while Jenkins said the fire department will work "as long as it takes," to make the units safe.
After the buildings are evacuated, the city will be cutting the main gas line to the complex, Jenkins said. From there, a third party will come in and evaluate the issues.
"Until then, without a doubt, this property will remain vacant," Benjamin said.
Speaking with the media and with residents looking on Mayor Benjamin said he spoke with elderly inhabitants and parents of a toddler about the issue and them having to move.
"It's trying on our souls and hearts," Benjamin said. "We're going to do every single thing we possibly can."
Just before the comments, Williams pulled into the courtyard between unit F and G and packed what he could into his car. He drove away from Allen Benedict Court.
"This is what we got to do. This is life," Williams said. "It's an uncertain thing now."
