NEWS: Wake County Employees Return to Work After Office Building Evacuation

2/9/2009

The Wake County Office Building, 336 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, was evacuated at approximately 12:25 p.m. Monday, February 9, 2009, as a result of several calls to the Raleigh Fire Department from citizens explaining that they saw black smoke suspended over the building. Smoke was exhausted through the building’s chimney making it appear as if the building may be on fire. The smoke was from a contractor performing routine maintenance to the building’s boiler.

All building and life safety systems operated properly and as designed. There was no internal cause for the fire alarm to be activated; however, after the source of the problem was identified, the Fire Department and County officials decided to evacuate the building as a precautionary measure. The response from the City’s Fire Department was normal as this is a high-rise facility.

Wake County would like to commend the City of Raleigh Fire Department for their excellent response to this incident. Their preparedness and emergency response plan to high-rise events was well executed.

Staff and visitors were allowed to return to the building at approximately 1:00 p.m. There was not a fire and no injuries reported.

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