Mysterious Odor Forces Evacuation

Jon Shirek

A mysterious odor forced the evacuation of a Gwinnett County office building Wednesday morning, and sickened at least one employee.

Firefighters allowed everyone back inside within an hour because the odor dissipated on its own and the HAZMAT team could not find the source.

Lieutenant Thomas Rutledge of the Gwinnett County Fire Department said five employees who work on the second floor of McKesson Corporation at 1605 Lakes Parkway noticed the odor, thinking it was a possible gas leak.

Rutledge said at least one of the five experienced nausea and vomiting.

Firefighters received the call at 10:18 a.m. The entire building was evacuated of all employees. Firefighters with the HAZMAT team used meters to try to locate the source of the odor, but the odor was gone before they could figure out where it was coming from.

All employees were back at work inside the building, including the five who smelled the odor, by about 11:15.

Rutledge said McKesson Corp. is a company that processes medical bills for physicians.

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