10 Residents, 3 Pets Injured by Hazardous Chemical

***UPDATE: Chapel Hill Fire officials now say 10 residents were injured along with three pets. Fire Department Public Information Officer Lisa Edwards says the department has completed its services related to the incident and directed further questions to the property management. A PineGate representative told WCHL that no one from the company was able to offer an update.***

Residents at PineGate apartments wanted answers from property management after a hazardous chemical was used while painting.

Hundreds of residents at PineGate apartments were exposed to hazardous chemicals while paint was being stripped away from breezeways around the complex, according to Chapel Hill Fire Department Spokesperson Lisa Edwards.

“We’ve had six burns reported today and three pets,” she said on Wednesday evening.

“What we do know is the product is a product called Stripper Cream. It carries a pH level of 13.5,” she says. “It’s a sodium and potassium hydroxide mix and so that’s why the chemical burn issue is what we’re finding to be so prevelant.”

Fire crews were initially called to the apartments between Fordham Boulevard and Sage Road shortly after 7:30 on Wednesday morning, after the chemical was initially put out throughout the complex around four o’clock Tuesday afternoon. North Carolina Hazmat, Orange County Emergency Services, Chapel Hill Police, and other local agencies joined in to help evaluate the situation.

Crews evacuated the estimated 128 apartments affected across 11 apartment buildings.

One resident provided a copy of the written notice provided by the initial contractor – Professional Property Enhancement – that cautioned residents to remove items from the breezeway being painted and to be cautious because heavy-duty chemical products would be used. However, in the notice there was no caution of the chemicals being hazardous to humans or animals.

Zaryab Hassen has lived in PineGate for several years. He is facing a substantial vet bill after his Rottweiler, Hazel, was exposed to the chemicals.

“The doctors said that they’re surprised that she’s still alive,” he says. “But she hasn’t been acting like herself. I can tell that something’s not right.”

Hassen adds that Hazel was lethargic and wasn’t drinking water.

Frustration was mounting among residents throughout the day as they were initially on lockdown in their apartments, then evacuated to stand under the baking sun in the parking lot, or maybe take a dip in the apartment complex’s pool during the scorching heat.

As anger grew, residents wanted answers from GSC, the property owner, but those answers were few and far between.

Fire officials said that it would be at least 24 to 48 hours before the residents could safely return to their apartments, but GSC representatives were hoping for a quicker return and were unwilling to commit to providing accommodations to those who were displaced.

As company officials told residents it would be at least another eight hours before all residents would be allowed to return to their homes the meeting became heated.

“This company is worth millions of dollars! They can put these people up in hotel rooms that have children,” one resident shouted.

The GSC Spokesperson was not providing satisfactory answers, according to the residents.

GSC did offer to reimburse residents who paid for their own hotel rooms upfront. Other residents were told to wait in the complex clubhouse before being told whether they could return to their apartments, would be housed in neighboring apartments owned by GSC, or if the company would ultimately pay for hotel rooms for the displaced residents.

On Wednesday evening, a new emergency response company – HEPACO – was cleaning up the chemical residue.

GSC estimated that it would be Thursday morning before all of the apartments were cleared for resident’s return. Meanwhile, the Chapel Hill Fire Department was estimating that it would be 48 hours before the cleanup was completed.

Several residents told WCHL that they would be leaving the apartment complex once their leases were up.

10 Residents, 3 Pets Injured by Hazardous Chemical

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