Oct. 01--A dozen emergency vehicles occupied a block of downtown for more than three hours after a chemical spill at 340 Cedar Street in St. Paul Tuesday morning.
A custodian mistakenly mixed sulfuric acid with chlorine on the seventh floor at about 7:30 a.m., creating a gas that forced an evacuation of the building, according to St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard.
Shortly before 11 a.m., crews were finishing their cleanup and Zaccard said the incident was over.
About 30 firefighters, police and chemical specialists milled about the scene at its height, filling Cedar Street between East Fourth and Fifth streets, which was also closed to traffic and pedestrians.
Portable baths were set up to decontaminate crews after they exited the building.
The custodian was treated for chest pains 30 minutes after the incident, but there were no immediate reports of other injuries, Zaccard said.
The skyway in 340 Cedar Street was also closed.
The building is home to Hotel 340 and the St. Paul Athletic Club.
The situation was treated as a HazMat incident -- a specialized, state-funded team worked to clean up the site.
Joseph Lindberg can be reached at 651-228-5513. Follow him at twitter.com/JosephLindberg.
Copyright 2013 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
