Omaha Fire Chief Dan Olsen says 25 people were transported to three metro hospitals Thursday morning after fumes spread through the First National tower at 16th and Dodge Thursday morning.
The incident forced the evacuation of 2,000 people from the building. Fire officials say 37 others were assessed at the scene but didn't require hospitalization. "Mostly light-headedness, headache and scratchy throat," says fire department medical director PJ Schenartz.
Nebraska Medicine says 16 people treated there are all stable and doing well. They say all were exposed to a what's believed to be a cleaning solution that caused respiratory problems. "We were doing routine maintenance on our air-handling system, specifically using a descaling solution on a humidifier", says First National spokesman Kevin Langan.
Employees were allowed to return to the building Thursday afternoon to retrieve their belongings. The building will re-open for business at 6:00 Friday morning.
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