By Anne Halliwell

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Architecture students were shepherded outside of Miller Hall to investigate a possible gas leak at about 4 p.m. Monday.

UKPD and the Lexington Fire Department’s equipment found no reading of any trace of natural gas, said UK Police chief Joe Monroe. He concluded that the fire alarm had been pulled.

Architecture graduate students Rupa Gurung and Allender Stewart sat on the grass outside the building after filing out of Miller when the alarm went off. Other displaced students clumped in the walkways.

“It stopped, too, in the middle of the staircase,” said Gurung. “You didn’t know whether to go up or down.”

Before clearance was given at 4:15, architecture professors Bruce Swetnam and Michael Jacobs continued to work with graduate students, spreading papers detailing their theoretical project over the concrete dividing wall between Miller and Patterson Office Tower.

They grabbed the papers and continued to work with grad students on whether or not the art museum is in an ideal location, Jacobs said.

“You’ve got to work when you can and where you can in architecture,” said architecture graduate student Bryant Hawkins.

At 5 p.m., Swetnam and Jacobs were still outside of Miller Hall with students.