Authorities investigating reports of irritating fumes inside Walmart in South Jersey
Around 4:15 p.m., people started calling 911 reporting an unknown irritant inside the Walmart in Deptford Township.
Authorities said nearly 20 people were taken to hospitals for evaluations after they were exposed late Tuesday afternoon to irritating fumes inside a Walmart in Deptford Township, a Gloucester County spokesperson said.
Around 4:15 p.m., people started calling 911 reporting an unknown irritant inside the Walmart on the 800 block of Cooper Street, said Andrew Halter, chief of HazMat for Gloucester County Emergency Response.
Emergency personnel encountered around 24 people exiting the department store showing signs, such as coughing and raspy throats, of exposure to an unknown irritant, Halter said.
The store was being investigated by local authorities and by personnel from Walmart, Halter said.
The store was closed for the night and was scheduled to reopen around 6 a.m. for normal business, though some shelves may be bare because some food, such as produce and baked goods, were removed “out of an abundance of caution,” Halter said.
The symptoms people showed or reported were “minor in nature,” Halter said, though he could not say if some people were admitted to the hospital for more serious concerns.
Investigators were reviewing whether the fumes came from something mechanical, or if the exposures happened in one or more sections of the store, Halter said.
“Right now, there’s no hazards present after everything that we’ve checked, which is key for having the store reoccupied by employees,” he said.
