Smelly Fridge Causes Evacuation of AT&T Call Centre

An AT&T call centre in San Jose, California had to be evacuated last week after a seven staff were taken to hospital suffering from nausea. The cause was a refrigerator in the office which hadn't been cleaned, for seemingly a very long time.

The San Jose Fire Department said a team was sent to the office complex just before lunchtime Tuesday and determined the odor was coming from an office mini-fridge, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The stench from the fridge resulted in the evacuation of the 325 employees, hospitalization of seven staff and the arrival of 50 firefighters and 18 emergency vehicles at the office. Twenty-one staff were also treated in the car park by paramedics.

The combination of the fridge being cleaned, along with staff spraying the room with chemical air fresheners had lead to concerns that a chemical attack had occured - so the firefighters initially entered the building in hazmat clothing.

Presumably failing to see the funny side of the issue, AT&T spokesman John Britton soberly told the newspaper that, "one of our top priorities, along with keeping people connected, is safety,"

On the web: San Jose Mercury News

Posted to the site on 17th May 2009