Some tense moments at the University of Vermont yesterday led to the evacuation of two adjacent buildings — both within an hour of one another.
In one, a researcher dropped a container of phenyl in a laboratory at the Health Science Research Facility, prompting a fire alarm that emptied the building about 12:40 p.m.
Fire officials say some of the chemical spilled on worker’s leg and he was treated at Fletcher Allen Health Care for a skin irritation.
About 30 minutes later, at Hills Agricultural Science building across the street, students heating soil in an experiment sent smoke through the building, prompting its evacuation for about 10 minutes.
Assistant Burlington Fire Marshal Thomas Middleton says things got "a little nutty” for awhile.