Employees and customers inside the Meijer in Kettering were forced to evacuate the building Thursday morning. The store was closed temporarily while fire crews investigated a strange odor. STAFF PHOTO/Mike Campbell
By Breaking News Staff
SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
Official statement from Meijer regarding chemical odor:
Earlier this morning, our store at 4075 Wilmington Pike in Kettering was closed as a precaution due to an odor resulting from an overnight remodeling project. Store leadership voluntarily closed the store while odor was cleared. Working with the Kettering Fire Department, the store was re-opened after approximately 90 minutes.
Update@10:40 p.m.:
The store’s being remodeled, and the strong odor was caused by three different coatings construction crews applied to the floor overnight, and there wasn’t adequate ventilation throughout the building, said Kettering Fire Marshal Bill Ford. As a result, the fumes from the chemicals caused customers and staff to feel ill when the store opened this morning, he said, noting that no one was transported to the hospital.
The store reopened just before 11 a.m.
Update@10:15 a.m.:
Our reporters on the scene have confirmed that the store was evacuated between 8:30 and 9 a.m., and the staff and customers waited in front of the facility as officials investigated the chemical odor. The odor may have come from the bakery department, where work was being done on the floor, customers told our reporters, who are working to get comments from the store manager.
First report:
We are hearing reports that Kettering fire officials are investigating an odor of chemicals at the Meijer store on Wilmington Pike. We have a crew on the way, and we will bring you more information as it becomes available. - See more at: http://www.whio.com/news/news/crime-law/crews-investigating-chemical-odor-at-kettering-mei/nnXdm/#sthash.FOCujX87.dpuf