Refrigerant leak forces evacuation of downtown Ottawa office building

Ottawa Fire Services responded to a refrigerant leak in an office building on Elgin Street Wednesday morning. (Jean Lalonde/Ottawa Fire Services)

A downtown Ottawa office building was evacuated Wednesday morning due to a possible refrigerant leak.

The Ottawa Fire Services received a 9-1-1 call from staff inside the building on Elgin Street near Queen Street at 8:43 a.m. Wednesday, reporting a possible refrigerant leak on the 13th floor.

“Our Hazardous Materials Team arrived and donned protective equipment before making entry,” Nick DeFazio, Ottawa Fire Services Public Information Officer, said.

“Firefighters confirmed that air readings in one of the chiller rooms on the 13th floor measured 600 parts per million (PPM) of refrigerant vapour. The entire structure was evacuated as a precaution, though no staff reported any symptoms.”

DeFazio said HazMat technician conducted air monitoring throughout the building and confirmed the ventilation systems in the chiller room and on the roof were functioning properly.

At 10:25 a.m., all air readings throughout the building registered at 0 PPM and staff were allowed to return.