Dozens of people in downtown Charlottesville got a late start to their workday Tuesday morning.
The Charlottesville Fire Department responded to reports of a strong chemical odor at the Waterhouse Building on Water Street around 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 21.
A contractor working on the building's air conditioning told firefighters that the unit spewed some Freon. Firefighters checked for the presence of any chemicals, but say they did not have any significant readings.
“Well it could be dangerous, luckily it was limited quantities of what was released,” said CFD Battalion Chief Allen Cuser. “If it were in a confined tight room, it could be a little dangerous, but we've done air-quality checks with our detection and we didn't get any high readings throughout the room that was affected or the floor, or the rest of the building.”
Employees in the building were able to return inside shortly after 10 a.m.