By GORDON D. KING

Staff Writer

NEW HAMPTON — A malfunction in the compressor at the ice rink at New Hampton School caused an ammonia leak and prompted the evacuation of about 100 people.

No one was inside the rink when the leak was discovered at about 8:35 a.m. and no injuries were reported.

Fire Chief David Clement said the escaping ammonia activated an alarm, which was heard by a passing employee. The compressor is in a utility room at the rink.

Firefighters from New Hampton, Ashland, and Bristol and the Central New Hampshire Hazardous Materials Team responded.

Chief Clement said they evacuated an estimated 100 people in 10 nearby buildings. They were taken to other buildings on the campus where classes quickly resumed.

Buildings evacuated included the dining hall, gymnasium, three dormitories, several classrooms and a nearby private home.

"It wasn’t a really bad leak but we treated this as a worst case scenario," the chief said.

The chief said maintenance people were able to make the necessary repairs to the compressor and firefighters were able to leave the scene around 11:30 a.m.