Emergency medical personnel wheel a person to a waiting
ambulance at the Walmart in Shrewsbury, Wednesday February 18, 2015. (JOHN
PAVONCELLO)
FEBRUARY 18, 2015
SHREWSBURY, PENNSYLVANIA
Four people were transported to York Hospital on Wednesday
afternoon after they breathed fumes from a chemical spill at the Shrewsbury
Walmart.
A total of 12 people were exposed to chemical fumes when a
container overturned in a tractor-trailer that was being unloaded at the store,
spilling what a hazardous materials team determined to be a cleaning solution,
said Shrewsbury Fire Chief Tony Myers.
Those affected complained of a burning sensation in their
throats or shortness of breath, Myers said. The four who were transported to
the hospital had non-life-threatening injuries and were being kept in the
hospital for observation, he said.
Response: Fire crews, the hazmat team, several ambulances
and York County's mobile command unit responded shortly after 4 p.m. to the
Walmart at 698 Shrewsbury Commons Ave., which was quickly evacuated and
remained closed while emergency crews ventilated the building. It re-opened at
5:45 p.m. once emergency responders deemed everything to be safe.
Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick said all of the people exposed
to the chemical were employees. He said the store was working to figure out
more details about what had happened.
Myers said he thinks the container that spilled was one of
the store's products, as the spill occurred in a delivery truck that was being
unloaded. He said no one was sure how the spill happened.
"We're treating it as an accidental release," the
chief said.
Nick said employees in the back area smelled "something
kind of pungent and off" and reported that to their bosses. Emergency
crews contained the fumes to that area, he said.
Working: Noelle Townsley was working behind the counter of
the Philly Pretzel Factory in the front of the store when emergency personnel
arrived.
"I was working and a firefighter came up to me and
said, 'Ma'am, you have to evacuate,'" she said, standing outside of the
then-evacuated Walmart on Wednesday afternoon, looking at the array of fire
engines and ambulances that spanned the length of the store. She said she
didn't smell anything weird before she left the building, but her station is on
the other side of the large store from the back area where the spill happened.