An entire of floor of the Brighton Towers in Syracuse, New York, was evacuated after first responders fell ill while investigating a 911 call, authorities said.
Two people are dead and several others were treated Wednesday after being exposed to an unknown substance at a senior residential community in Syracuse, New York, authorities said.
Syracuse Fire Department personnel responded to a 911 call regarding two people possibly dead at Brighton Towers at 10:30 a.m., according to Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. First responders said two people were dead on arrival and another was transferred to a local hospital for an “altered mental state.”
The identities of the two people who died have not been publicly released. No other fatalities were reported.
Three police officers who responded began feeling ill and were taken to SUNY Upstate Medical University for evaluation. A nurse who came into contact also began experiencing symptoms, Walsh said.
A firefighter and an EMS responder were also treated, he said.
The officers were starting to be discharged Wednesday, according to Walsh.
The fire department’s hazmat team returned to the scene to evaluate the building for potential substance exposure. The team evacuated 18 units on the six floor of the Brighton Towers building.
People began feeling sick about 30 minutes after being exposed to the unknown substance, Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon told reporters.
Hazmat officials were still working to identify the substance. McMahon noted the city saw a spike in overdoses of xylazine, an animal sedative, over the weekend.
“We had over 40 confirmed cases focused in centrally in the downtown area in the southwest section of city,” McMahon said. “It’s unknown whether any of these issues are related.”