Two Chilliwack apartment buildings evacuated Thursday night
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Updated: October 16, 2009 11:41 AM
A Bole Avenue apartment building was evacuated Thursday night after a toxic substance - which officials now believe was bear spray - was released in the hallway.
But so far police don't know how or why the incident happened.
Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Ullyot said firefighters responding to the 7:50 p.m. hazmat call did not know at first what they were dealing with.
"Bear or pepper spray usually leaves a residue, but in this case we couldn't find a residue," he said.
The fire department's hazmat protocol is to start with the worst-case scenario and scale down from there, he said, so all 20 units of the building were evacuated for about two hours while the air in the hallways was cleared with ventilators.
One person was taken to hospital for observation. Several occupants suffered breathing difficulties and mild eye irritation.
Chilliwack RCMP are investigating.
Meanwhile, residents of an apartment building on Victoria Avenue were also evacuated briefly later that night when a small fire broke out in a storage locker.
Fire alarms in the 24-suite building were activated at about 11:40 p.m. when residents noticed smoke on the first floor. They were allowed to return shortly after midnight.
The cause is under investigation by fire and police officials.
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