Hazmat scare leads to all-day evacuation of Minneapolis building

Safety officials evacuated a Minneapolis apartment building Friday amid concerns about possible exposure to hazardous chemicals. But preliminary tests later found the material was not toxic after all, reports indicate.

KSTP says paramedics responded to a medical call at a six-unit building at 6th Street and 5th Avenue Southeast and noticed chemicals they could not identify.

The Minneapolis Fire Department soon ordered the building evacuated, the intersection was closed to traffic, and crews including a bomb squad, hazmat team, and a National Guard support team spent the day at the scene.

This embed is invalid

KSTP says the apartment where the chemicals were found remained sealed off Friday evening, but residents of the building's other units were allowed back into their homes.

The Star Tribune reports the evacuation lasted 10 hours. Authorities provided residents of the building with a Metro Transit bus where they could take shelter as they waited.

A police spokesman told KSTP officials don't yet know what the chemicals in the apartment are.

KARE 11 and other news outlets report one resident of the building was hospitalized but it was unclear if his condition was related to the chemicals.