Campus Alert Archive
Texas A&M

An Over-Pressurized Beaker Triggers a 45-Minute Code Maroon Evacuation

TXchemical spillemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the morning of May 11, 2010, two graduate students were burned when a beaker became over-pressurized and exploded in a chemistry annex laboratory at Texas A&M University. The university sent an emergency alert to student cell phones and local radio ordering an evacuation of the chemistry annex, then issued a follow-up about a half hour later saying the situation was stabilized. The two injured students, Michael Grubb and Michell Warter, suffered burns that were not considered serious.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
2
Institution
Texas A&M University
Public R1 · TX
~49,000 studentsCode Maroon
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTTwitter/X
Verified verbatimOfficial @TAMUCodeMaroon Twitter feed109 chars
Code Maroon: Explosion at Chemistry Annex. Evacuate and avoid nearby buildings and area on Ross Street. 10:50
Posted verbatim to the official @TAMUCodeMaroon feed; the trailing '10:50' is the system's own time stamp (10:50 AM CDT), a Code Maroon convention of appending the message time to the body.
'Ross Street' correctly identifies the chemistry annex location at 646 Ross St on the College Station campus — actionable geography for a localized evacuation.
Code Maroon is Texas A&M's emergency notification system, launched after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting; this is a routine-hazard activation rather than an active-violence one.
ALL CLEARSMS
Approximate reconstruction173 chars
Code Maroon: The situation at the Chemistry annex has been stabilized. The building is clear and normal activities may resume. Two people were injured and are being treated.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: sources state a follow-up alert about a half hour later said the situation was stabilized, but the exact wording is not preserved.
This is the genuine all-clear because it explicitly says the situation is stabilized and resumes normal activities.
The annex was evacuated for about 45 minutes total, a short response window for a localized chemical/lab incident with no ongoing threat.
Context

Background

A beaker exploded around 10:30 AM CDT on May 11, 2010, in a Texas A&M University chemistry annex laboratory, burning two graduate students who were working with dry ice near a fume hood. The university activated its Code Maroon emergency system, alerting student cell phones and local radio to evacuate the annex, then issued a stabilization follow-up about thirty minutes later. The injured students, Michael Grubb and Michell Warter, were treated for burns that were not considered serious. The case illustrates how the post-Virginia Tech mass-notification systems were used for routine campus hazards — a localized lab accident — not just active-violence events, and how a tightly scoped evacuation could resolve within an hour.
Analysis

Key Findings

An over-pressurized beaker exploded in a Texas A&M chemistry annex, burning two graduate students who recovered from non-serious injuries
Texas A&M used its Code Maroon system to push an evacuation order to cell phones and local radio
A stabilization follow-up was sent about 30 minutes later; the annex was evacuated for roughly 45 minutes total
The incident shows the post-Virginia Tech alert systems being applied to localized lab hazards, not only active-violence threats
Outcome
Both graduate students were taken to College Station Medical Center with burns that were not considered serious. The chemistry annex was evacuated for about 45 minutes before being declared stabilized.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Social
    Code Maroon alert: "Explosion at Chemistry Annex..." - @TAMUCodeMaroon (Twitter/X)
    twitter.com
  2. News
    Texas A&M Lab Explosion: 2 Injured, Chemistry Building Evacuated - HuffPost
    huffingtonpost.com
  3. News
    Two injured in chemical explosion at Texas A&M lab - ABC13 Houston
    abc13.com
  4. News
    Two injured after explosion at Texas A&M chemistry lab - KENS5
    kens5.com
Tags
chemical-spilllab-explosiontexascode-maroonevacuationinjurieshazmat
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion