Office evacuated as odor sickens some

Jen Lawson

Friday, July 23, 2004 | 11:08 a.m.

Officials this morning were investigating a pungent-smelling stain on the second floor of an office building that may have caused dozens of people to feel sick.

About 6:45 a.m. at least 60 employees of Risk Management Alternatives, a collection agency, began complaining about symptoms such as shortness of breath, watery eyes, nausea, chest pains and headaches.

Clark County Fire Department's hazardous materials team was called to the office building on Grier Drive, off Paradise Road near Warm Springs Road.

They used hazardous materials meters to determine the source of the smell inside the two-story building, fire department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

Initially nothing registered on the instruments, but at 10 a.m. officials zeroed in on a spot believed to be causing the smell. It was being sent to a lab for analysis.

The odor seemed to affect just one wing of the building, but Steve Solomon, senior vice president of the company, said all 500 employees were evacuated as a precaution.

Leinbach said about 100 people were examined, 40 of whom were treated on the scene and 22 of whom were taken to area hospitals. Of those, four needed immediate hospitalization, he said. None suffered serious injuries.

A group of employees gathered in the shade outside the building said they were worried about their safety and had concerns about going back inside.

Danielle Hall said one of her supervisors remained in the building too long because she was trying to get employees evacuated, and she had to be hospitalized.

"She coughed so hard she almost fell off the gurney," she said.

Another employee, Denada Campbell, said she felt a burning sensation in her eyes and paramedics washed them out in the parking lot.

They said the odor smelled like roach spray.

"There were seven bottles of Raid under the vending machine," Hall said.