Office Tower Evacuated After “Bear Repellent” Scare
Posted June 20, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If you’re reading this in one of Toronto’s many office towers, call this a cautionary tale – open those promotional items at your own risk. Or you and all your colleagues could wind up on the street wondering what happened.
Authorities were forced to evacuate the 14th to 18th floors of the building adjacent to the Scotia Plaza Tuesday afternoon, following the discharge of what appears to be some bear repellent.
There may have been a few bears – and some bulls – in the busy building at the time, but the noxious fumes drove everyone on several floors right out of the place during the height of the business day.
Police say an executive apparently received a promotional golf package containing the substance and somehow let it loose into the immediate environment. That resulted in some irritation to several workers, who began to cough.
Authorities and workers both feared a terror attack and no one was taking any chances, immediately evacuating the adjacent floors while they aired the place out.
While there was lots of commotion and plenty of disruption, there were no serious injuries from the interruption.
And it appears whatever the stuff was, it worked – no bears came near the building after the substance was released.
