NORTH SALT LAKE -- It is still a mystery why 26 employees at the Lexington Law Firm call center suddenly became sick Tuesday morning.
Ambulances were called to the building at 360 N. Cutler Drive after a couple of employees complained of feeling sick.
After the ambulances arrived, more people began to show similar symptoms, and a hazmat team was called to go through the building after it was evacuated.
"They suited up and went through the whole building with numerous types of detectors that can detect any type of chemical or gasoline, and nothing came up," said Jeff Bassett, South Davis Metro Fire deputy fire chief.
Of the 26 people who felt ill, nine were taken to Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful as a result of possible chemical exposure.
All nine were released by about 3 p.m. Those who were sick complained of dizziness, light-headedness and nausea, typical flu-like symptoms.
"They've done blood work and found no carbon monoxide poisoning, nothing out of the ordinary that would cause a mass sickness," Bassett said.
He said the cause may have come from something in the common break room, because the hazmat team did not find anything to support the theory dealing with chemical exposure.
"We're leaning toward it being food- or water-related," Bassett said. "It is going to be one of the unknown causes unless the health department comes up with the cause."
Officials from Questar Gas checked out the building and did not find a gas leak, Bassett said.
Other investigators checked the heating and air-conditioning systems and could not find any leaks there either, he said.
Davis County health officials will continue to investigate the situation to determine what caused the employees to become ill.
"We're working with Lakeview Hospital, plus we have a couple of our environmental health scientists that have gone down to specifically sample water on site," said Bob Ballew, public information officer for Davis County Health Department.
"We're still looking into it. It's something that, until we can come up with a reason, it's not over yet."
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