World News

School Evacuated Due to Strange Smell that Turned Out to be Pumpkin Spice

By  | 
Tony Maples Photography

 

KXAN reports that at the end of last week, a high school in Baltimore ordered a full evacuation of their building due to a mysterious smell. “Hazardous materials crews responded to Crito Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore around 2:30 PM to investigate. They did testing for toxic materials twice,” the news reports. But what they found wasn’t some sort of stink bomb or purposefully harmful substance. Instead, they tracked the culprit down and discovered it was simply a pumpkin spice air freshener someone had plugged in, thinking it would bring some holiday spirit.

ABC News writes, “Fire spokesman Roman Clark said two students and three adults were taken to the hospital for stomach ailments.” And many people said they had a hard time breathing. Keith Daniels of WBFF Fox45 wrote on his Facebook page that it took two hours to air out the school with large fans.

Though it may seem silly, the odor could have had a toxic source, so it was worth the investigation. It appears that several people could have experienced an allergic reaction to the strong-smelling pumpkin spice air freshener. Also, bold scents can often give many people migraines if they’re inhaled for prolonged periods of time.