Eight customers of Home Depot in Morgan Hill were stricken ill by a mysterious odor in the air Sunday afternoon, according to authorities.
Four of the patients were transported to the hospital for treatment of symptoms characterized by incessant coughing, according to CalFire Fire Prevention Specialist Pam Temmermand.
Just before 3:30pm July 1, the fire department received a call from Home Depot, 860 E. Dunne Ave., reporting “some type of smell inside Home Depot that had made some people ill,” Temmermand said. The store was evacuated and the county’s hazardous materials investigators arrived to inspect inside.
Authorities entered the store wearing hazmat suits, but were unable to find the source of the odor, Temmermand said. After thoroughly investigating, authorities cleared Home Depot to allow customers back inside.
CalFire and other agencies cleared the area by 6pm, and no further response has been requested at Home Depot since the Sunday afternoon incident.
“They never determined the source, or what the smell was,” Temmermand said.
Temmermand said she did not know the current condition of the four customers transported to the hospital. The other four patients were treated for their symptoms at the scene outside Home Depot.
Wildfire burns eight acres
A vegetation fire in the area of Oak Glen Avenue and Willow Springs road burned about eight acres before firefighters extinguished the blaze Friday afternoon.
Fire authorities responded to the fire just north of Chesbro Reservoir about 4:30pm June 29. No structures were burned in the wildfire and no injuries were reported, according to Temmermand.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
