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Emergency services off Rangiora property where a suspected gas leak was reported.
The smell of a decaying phone battery in a North Canterbury store sent three people to hospital, says Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz).
Fenz spokesman Andrew Norris said firefighters were called to the Spark store in Rangiora at 11:49 am Tuesday after reports of a possible gas leak.
One person was treated at the scene by an ambulance.
Firefighters could not find the source of the gas leak and left. They were called back to the store at 1.10 p.m. with more reports of an odor, Norris said. They still couldn’t track where the smell was coming from or what was making people sick.
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Norris said the decaying phone battery was later found to be the likely cause of the odor.
It was a lithium-ion battery and gave off “a gas that is obviously not visible,” he said.
EMMA DANGERFIELD / Stuff
A specialized unit from Christchurch attended the incident with gas detectors, along with two teams of firefighters.
The phone was removed from the building following technical advice from a specialized chemical unit in Queensland, Australia.
People were allowed to return after the building was fully ventilated.
A spokesperson for St John Ambulance previously said that six people were tested at the scene and three were taken to Christchurch Hospital in “mild condition.”
Norris initially said that gas detectors couldn’t find any trace of gas.
A specialized unit from Christchurch attended the incident with gas detectors, along with two teams of firefighters.
