A hazardous materials investigation is underway in Hollywood, where a woman passed out after she was exposed to an unknown substance on Monday afternoon, according to police.
Circumstances surrounding the incident remain largely unclear as the probe continues, but Los Angeles Fire Department crews tell CBS LA that they were called to the Hollywood Arts Collective apartments, in the 1600 block of Schrader Boulevard, at around 4 p.m.
They said that as they continued to investigate the incident, some testing that they had done began coming back positive, and that some firefighters who were exposed to the substance had to be isolated and decontaminated.
Los Angeles Police Department officers said that a woman opened a package that she had received in the mail and became dizzy and then passed out after opening it.
As their investigation continued, firefighters had the entire apartment building evacuated. The Hollywood Arts Collective is an affordable housing complex with more than 150 units.
Firefighters said that there was a possibility that the tenants could need to find somewhere else to stay for the night, as LAPD assumed what they called a criminal investigation
Earlier in the day, Los Angeles City Hall was briefly impacted by a similar investigation after an unknown powder was found in the building’s mail room.
Firefighters responded to the scene at around 12:10 p.m. after the powder was found inside a sealed bag. In that instance, one person was assessed but did not require medical attention.
It’s unclear exactly what the substance was. No evacuations were required in the City Hall incident
This is a developing story. Check back for details
