RivCo Target Evacuated Amid HazMat Investigation Given 'All Clear'

RIVERSIDE, CA — A noxious odor caused by a malfunctioning generator prompted an evacuation and hazardous materials investigation Monday at a Target on the south end of Riverside, where one person fell ill and required hospital treatment.

The gaseous odor was reported at 8:20 a.m. within the Towngate Shopping Center in the 2700 block of Canyon Springs Parkway, just south of the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway, according to the Riverside Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst said that three engine crews and a truck company -- numbering more than 20 personnel -- were sent to the location and encountered "multiple individuals" at the Target complaining of feeling ill from exposure to fumes.

The store was immediately evacuated, and ambulances were summoned.

A total of 42 employees were required to leave the premises. Vanderhorst said that a couple of them received treatment at the scene, but another suffered from "minor" debilitation and needed further treatment and evaluation at a nearby hospital.

No customers were in the outlet at the time.

An investigation by a fire department hazardous materials team and Riverside County Department of Environmental Health personnel located the source of the odor -- "an emergency backup generator on site that ran propane and diesel fuel," the battalion chief said.

"Facilities management was conducting the monthly generator check when it malfunctioned, and the smell of propane entered the structure," he said.

There was no life safety threat.

At 11:30 a.m., all units departed the Target, and the outlet was reopened to the public by noon.