12-8-2014, CHICAGO, IL. FUR convention IN CHICAGO WAS disrupted as
'intentional' gas incident sends 19 to hospitals
The third alarm leak
happened right in the middle of the annual Midwest Furfest Convention, forcing
people to evacuate the center, in full costume.
By Alexandra
Chachkevitch, Geoff
Ziezulewicz, Chicago Tribune contact
the reporters
The manner by which
the substance was released "suggests an intentional act," according
to the police.
Several thousand
people, some dressed as animal characters, were evacuated from a Hyatt hotel in
suburban Rosemont when an “intentional” chlorine gas incident at the hotel,
which was hosting the Midwest FurFest convention, sent 19 people to
hospitals early Sunday.
incident happened around 12:40 a.m. at the Hyatt, at 9300 West Bryn Mawr Avenue in Rosemont,
according to a statement from the Rosemont Public Safety Department. First
responders were called to investigate a noxious odor that was spreading across
the ninth floor of the hotel, where a high level of chlorine gas was discovered
in the air, the statement said.
Nineteen people were
transported to nearby hospitals after complaining of nausea, dizziness and
other medical problems, according to the statement. All people inside the
building were temporarily evacuated and sheltered at nearby facilities,
including the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Disrupted was an
annual weekend-long convention called Midwest FurFest, which celebrates art,
literature and performance based around anthropomorphic animals, draws
thousands of people every year, according to the Midwest FurFest website.
Hazardous materials
technicians found the source of the chlorine gas, what appeared to be powdered
chlorine, in a stairwell at the ninth floor, according to a statement from
police.
Technicians
decontaminated the area and after conducting several tests deemed the area safe
within about two hours. People were allowed back into the building about 4:20
a.m., according to a statement from FurFest. Some conventiongoers, some of whom
were dressed up as animal characters, stood outside of the building. Hundreds
more escaped the chilly weather at other buildings.
"At 1:10 AM the
entire hotel was evacuated, first across Bryn Mawr Ave. in front of the Hyatt
as per Rosemont Fire Department’s standard procedures, then when it became
apparent that the wait would take longer, the Stephens Convention Center was
opened to provide warmth and shelter to our guests," according to the
FurFest statement.
Thomas Zell, 27, of
Arlington Heights, said he was outside with a group of people near the hotel
entrance when he saw people being evacuated. Zell said he has been attending
FurFest and other conventions in the Hyatt hotel for several years.
“A lot of people
thought this was just someone pulling the fire alarm,” Zell said, adding that
it is not uncommon for someone to trigger the alarm at such events. “But
it was serious this time,” Zell said.
Zell and others said
many conventiongoers were dancing and partying in groups in different parts of
the hotel when the incident happened.
Iowa residents
Morgan Smejkal and Chris Delaney said they did not hear the alarms in the part
of the building they were in and found out they needed to evacuate through
hotel staff and after receiving texts from their friends.
“It was shocking,”
said Smejkal while standing outside the hotel dressed in a red panda animal
suit.
The couple said they
smelled chlorine as they walked out the building.
“It was like when
you walk into a pool. It was pungent,” said Delaney.
The manner by which
the substance, which was consistent with powdered chlorine, was released
“suggests an intentional act,” according the statement from Rosemont police,
who are investigating the incident as a criminal matter.
FurFest organizers
said in the statement that neither they nor the hotel would offer refunds
because the incident was “an unforeseen criminal act.”
Still, organizers
said in the statement late Sunday morning that the FurFest would go on.
“As we wake up today we want to continue to provide the best possible
convention that we can, despite the trying circumstances,” according to the
statement. “We ask you to continue to be patient, and remember that the
volunteers who make Midwest FurFest happen intend to give 110% to make sure
that the fun, friendship, and good times of Midwest FurFest 2014 overshadow
last night’s unfortunate incident.”
Several thousand hotel guests, many of them convention-goers
dressed as animal characters, were forced to evacuate a suburban Chicago hotel
early this morning after a chlorine gas leak was detected. Nineteen people who
complained of dizziness and nausea were treated and released from the hospital,
according to The Associated Press.
"The incident happened around 12:40 a.m. at the Hyatt,
at 9300 West Bryn Mawr Avenue in Rosemont, according to a statement from the
Rosemont Public Safety Department. First responders were called to investigate
a noxious odor that was spreading across the ninth floor of the hotel, where a
high level of chlorine gas was discovered in the air, the statement said. ...
"Technicians decontaminated the area and after
conducting several tests deemed the area safe within about two hours. People
were allowed back into the building around 3:30 a.m. Some convention-goers,
some of whom were dressed up as animal characters, stood outside of the
building. Hundreds more were escaping the chilly weather at other
buildings."
Police said the substance was released and suggested it was
an intentional act. They were investigating the incident as a criminal act,
according to the Tribune.
"It was shocking," Morgan Smejkal was quoted by
the newspaper as saying as he stood outside the hotel dressed in a red panda
animal suit.
Smejkal was one of many at the hotel attending the Midwest
FurFest, an annual event for self-described "furries,"
to "come together to celebrate furry fandom, that is, art, literature, and
performance based around anthropomorphic animals," according to the convention's
website.
Organizers say last year's Midwest gathering attracted
nearly 4,000 attendees, making it the second-largest furry convention in the
U.S.