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Fumes close tunnel: Five people taken to hospital
Many complained of eye irritation and shortness of breath
Saturday, December 2, 2000
By MARK A. WALIGORE
Shoppers and workers streamed out of Westlake Center yesterday after an irritating chemical wafted into the building, briefly disrupting the evening commute for yet another day as authorities closed the city's bus tunnel.
Underground, in the city's 1.3 miles of tunnel, commuters passed the time reading newspapers or books; others abandoned the tunnel and headed back to the streets, where Metro quickly rerouted buses.
Yesterday's disturbance came less than 24 hours after police and demonstrators clashed on the streets of Seattle during protests to mark the one-year anniversary of the riots during the World Trade Organization conference.
Police and fire officials could not identify the chemical that prompted yesterday's evacuation, nor could they say whether it was related to the Nov. 30 anniversary celebration, known as N30.
The first hint of trouble came at 1:40 yesterday afternoon, when someone called the Seattle Fire Department to report noxious fumes at the Westlake Station of the bus tunnel.
Laurie Fisher, who works at a law firm in Westlake Tower, said she and her co-workers were simply told to evacuate the building.
"They said grab your coat, grab your purse and leave," Fisher said.
At 2:09 p.m. the Fire Department was called to the University Street Station after someone there smelled noxious fumes, too.
The Fire Department received a third call at 2:36 p.m., this time at Pioneer Square Station.
Outside the station, riders cursed and rushed off to make other plans when police told them of the closure. One woman grumbled in disgust, "Another WTO thing."
At a nearby deli, Jody Hall and her 2-year-old daughter passed the time by ordering a sandwich. They needed to catch the bus back to a park and ride in Issaquah, some 20 miles away.
At the Convention Place Station at Ninth Avenue and Pine Street, Larry, who works at a concession stand there, tried to help confused commuters.
"I gave lots of directions on how to get to certain places and served coffee through the gate," he said.
Back in the tunnel, Shay Smith waited for a bus for 30 minutes so she could get home to Tukwila.
"It's getting on my nerves," she said. "It never fails. When you've got someplace to go, something happens."
The tunnel closed at 2:40 p.m. and reopened about 3:30 p.m. -- 30 minutes into the peak traffic time.
Rochelle Ogershok, a Metro spokeswoman, said buses that normally run underground were rerouted onto surface streets, and no additional buses had to be put into service.
On Thursday, about two dozen bus routes in the downtown area were disrupted because of the demonstrations.
The bus tunnel was the first in the nation designed for dual-powered buses, which run on electricity inside the tunnel and on diesel fuel outside.
Each day, tens of thousands of commuters use the tunnel, which is lined with colorful murals, clocks, electronic art and etched tiles.
Mike Spain, Lydia Lum, Jim Newkirk, Ronnie Crocker and assistant metro editor Chris Grygiel contributed to this report.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
At least five people were taken to the hospital, and a number of others complained of eye irritation and shortness of breath.
Two women are treated after the Westlake Center was evacuated when an irritating chemical infiltrated the lower level. Five people were taken to the hospital yesterday afternoon in the incident that resulted in closure of the city's bus tunnel. Many others complained of eye irritation and shortness of breath. P-I Photo
Those fumes quickly reached the shopping mall.
Security guards use a powerful fan to clear residue from a noxious gas that was released in the Westlake Center yesterday. In addition to the evacuation of Westlake Center, the fumes forced the city's bus tunnel to close for nearly an hour at the start of evening rush hour.
P-I Photo
Assistant metro editor Mark Waligore can be reached at 206-448-8217 or markwaligore@seattle-pi.com
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