Oakville, Ont., firefighters say hazmat teams were called out to Thomas A. Blakelock High School Tuesday afternoon amid reports of a noxious odour and respiratory irritant inside a building.
Fire officials say the Rebecca Street learning facility was fully evacuated with one teacher transported to hospital as a precaution.
“We confirmed there were some occupants of the school, some of the teachers, that had inhalation concerns from this noxious substance and resulting in difficulty breathing with some burning eye symptoms,” Deputy Fire Chief Dan Boyer told Global News.
“By the time our hazardous materials team was assigned to assess what the product was, it had already dissipated to the point where we could not make any determinations on what that noxious substance was.”
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Fire Chief Paul Boissonneault says fire crews on scene are working with Halton Police on the area of origin and further investigation of potential persons of interest as part of a probe by the school’s administration.
Boyer said the incident happened at the tail end of the school day with students and many staff having already left the facility.
A late afternoon walk through with air detection equipment revealed no further noxious substances.
Close to 1,000 students are currently enrolled at T.A. Blakelock.