Office Workers Escape Poison Gas Leak

29 April 2016 | Updated 01 January 1970

Firefighters were called to investigate a smell of chemicals in an office building yesterday evening (Thurs 28) and 60 people were evacuated. The incident was on Clifford Street in London's busy West End.

Ten people left a basement conference room before crews arrived and firefighters evacuated a further 50 people from the four storey office block.

Crews using specialist equipment found raised levels of carbon monoxide and carried out a sweep of the building to identify the source of the leak. This was found to be a boiler in the basement which they isolated. The building was ventilated before being handed back to the owners.

Five people were treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service and a further five were taken to hospital for precautionary checks.

The Brigade was called just after 5:00pm and the incident was over at about 7:20pm. Fire crews from Soho and Lambeth fire stations attended the scene as well as a number of specialist appliances.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. At least 50 people die every year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Despite this, there is a lack of carbon monoxide detector installations (particularly in domestic situations) yet every building has a smoke alarm.”

Article written by Brian Shillibeer | Published 29 April 2016