London Neighborhood Evacuated After Mysterious Chemical ‘Incident’

There was a “chemical incident” that hurt five people and caused an emergency evacuation.

The London Fire Brigade told drivers to stay away from the area because 60 firemen and eight fire trucks had been sent to the scene in west London. The police are currently investigating what may have happened.

Crews wearing breathing gear evacuated everyone out of a five-story apartment building in Fulham, west London.

At 12:35 a.m. this morning, there were calls about a “chemical incident” in the block, and eight fire trucks rushed to the scene.

Two men from a one-story apartment on the first floor of a five-story building were taken to the hospital by LHS. They were reportedly working on three more people at the scene.

The emergency responders were there for five hours before letting the people who lived there back into their apartments.

A Hazardous Area Response Team and ambulance teams were also sent to the scene.

Ten people in all were taken to the hospital with breathing problems and were worked on by doctors and nurses.

What caused the “chemical incident” is unknown.

Fire stations as far away as Euston in north London and Bethnal Green in the East End sent crews to the scene.

Graham Crow, station commander, said it was a prolonged incident, and crews stayed on the scene for several hours. A cordon was put up around the area, so drivers would steer clear.

The private road was closed but has since been reopened.

Residents of Ethel Rankin House were evacuated during the response.

After the firefighters performed a final sweep of the perimeter inside and out of the building and found no elevated readings, they allowed residents to return to their apartments.

Investigators are trying to determine whether this was a natural occurrence or something deliberately done to cause mayhem.