Gasoline fumes cause evacuation of Raleigh office

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A dentist's office in the 84-hundred block of Louisburg Road in Raleigh was evacuated Thursday morning after gasoline fumes from a generator in a neighboring office under renovation were pulled into the air conditioning system.

It happened in a vacant suite two doors down from Wells Family Dentistry off Louisburg Rd. and Leland Dr.

Stephanie Malary, Wells Family Dentistry office manager, said staff could smell something potent when they showed up for work but didn't know what it was.

As patients started to arrive, Malary said they had opened windows and turned on fans, but within the hour, she called the fire department because many were feeling dizzy.

"We started to feel a little bit dizzy: the people that were more towards the interior wall," she said. "And it was our staff members, so we are closer to that. Our patients, thankfully, are more towards the window side, a little bit farther away, but it was something that was noticeable."

David Whitley, Raleigh Fire Dept. Battalion Chief, said they sent a full hazmat crew, but ended up finding a small, leaking generator in a vacant suite that is currently under renovation.

The generator was not running, but Whitley said the HVAC system had picked up the fumes from the gasoline that had puddled on the floor, carrying it into the dentist office.

In total, eight employees and four patients evacuated. EMS checked them all on scene, but no one needed to go to the hospital.

Firefighters set up fans to help ventilate the building. The dentist office closed for the day, but will reopen Friday.