Hazmat crews were seen entering a dental clinic in downtown Ottawa on Thursday to respond to reports of sudden illness.
Ottawa firefighters, paramedics and police were called to O’Connor Dental Health at 99 Bank St. on Thursday morning after two clients reported symptoms of vomiting, a burning sensation in their eyes and smelling varsol, a paint thinner.
Ottawa paramedics say they received the call at 9:50 a.m. from a woman complaining of a bad odour causing nausea and vomiting.
Paramedics attended to two people, who both declined to be transported to hospital.
Ottawa police were called in to block off the road between Queen and Albert streets while firefighters entered the office.
Jen McNeely, spokesperson for Ottawa Fire Services, says crews tested for carbon monoxide, which came up negative.
She noted the entire complex was not evacuated because the dentist’s office had its own ventilation system, which staff were able to shut off from the rest of the building.
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Ottawa firefighters dressed in hazmat suits entered the office carrying specialized equipment that could detect other gases.
As of 11 a.m., McNeely said no other gases were picked up by their crews.
Initially, McNeely said the dentist office was located on the ground floor right above a paint store.
McNeely later told Global News she has heard reports that the business below the dentist’s office was actually a print store. There is no paint store listed in the directory of the building, but there is one print shop, named Allegra Marketing Print Mail & Wil-Mac Labels.
A staff member from Allegra Marketing told Global News their business had nothing to do with the strange smell that appeared in O’Connor Dental Health earlier Thursday morning.
Ottawa fire has yet to identify the source of the odour in the building.
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