Robbinsdale senior building evacuated; repellent blamed

November 17, 2018 at 10:14PM
Firefighters work outside the Robbinsdale senior living home that was evacuated Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018.
Firefighters work outside the Robbinsdale senior living home that was evacuated Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. (Colleen Kelly — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

About two dozen people were evacuated from part of a Robbinsdale senior facility Saturday afternoon after an animal repellent was sprayed, sickening several residents.

The evacuations were at a building called the Lodge, which has assisted living and memory care at Copperfield Hill Senior Living.

Authorities received a call about 12:40 p.m. that several residents on the second floor were feeling sick, according to Assistant Fire Chief Mike Powell.

An aerosol container of dog repellent was found outside the building; Powell did not know if it had been sprayed inside or outside the building.

Some residents were taken to North Memorial Health Hospital with skin and eye irritation. The third and fourth floors were evacuated as a precaution with most residents taken to Metro Transit buses to stay warm.

Large fans were brought in to air out the building.

Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648

Part of a Robbinsdale senior living facility, Copperfield Senior Living, was evacuated due to a repellant Saturday. ] Liz Sawyer . 11/17/18 Robbinsdale, MN
Part of a Robbinsdale senior facility, Copperfield Hill Senior Living, was evacuated after someone sprayed a repellent Saturday. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Liz Sawyer

Reporter

Liz Sawyer  covers Minneapolis crime and policing at the Star Tribune. Since joining the newspaper in 2014, she has reported extensively on Minnesota law enforcement, state prisons and the youth justice system. 

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