THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 26, 1996 TAG: 9605260059
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 39 lines
Three employees of an Oceanfront hotel were sent to the hospital Saturday and at least 300 people were evacuated from the building after fumes from a household insecticide permeated the hotel's fifth floor.
The evacuation at the Hilton Inn - Virginia Beach, at 8th Street and Atlantic Avenue, began around 12:12 p.m. and ended at 2:15 p.m. Virginia Beach hazardous materials squads ventilated the floor and rinsed off five people using an emergency decontamination shower set up nearby.
Capt. Murrey Loflin of the Virginia Beach Fire Department said a hotel guest on the fifth floor was using common household bug spray to get rid of bugs on a balcony window when the problems began.
``He must have sprayed the entire room,'' said Howard Boose, the hotel's operations manager, adding that the guest had asked hotel staff to leave the bug spray in his room.
With windows shut and the air conditioning idle due to Saturday's cool temperatures, fumes from the bug spray quickly spread throughout the fifth floor's heating, ventilation and air conditioning ducts, Loflin said.
The fire department's hazardous materials squad was called after patrons began complaining of redness of the skin, coughing and respiratory problems.
Four people, all hotel employees, were treated by emergency workers upon arrival while the hotel was evacuated, Loflin said. Three of them were treated at Virginia Beach General Hospital and released.
In all, 19 people were treated, 16 of whom were attended to on the scene and refused further treatment. ``It was just unfortunate,'' said Boose. ``The Fire Department did a great job. They were just being cautious.''
Police closed off Atlantic Avenue between 7th and 8th streets during the evacuation. Most of the hotel patrons went to nearby restaurants or shops until the hotel was declared safe.
``I think a lot of it was just precautionary,'' Loflin said.
KEYWORDS: INSECTICIDE by CNB