The former tenant of a downtown Victoria hotel, where a non-hazardous was left in a suite on Monday, wonB次元官网网址檛 face criminal charges, says VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 fire chief.

Though itB次元官网网址檚 not clear what chemicals were poured into the sink of a room on the third floor of the Ritz Hotel, Victoria Fire Chief Jeff Lambert said, B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just bizarre, some of the stuff. We ran all our tests on it and everything came back negative.B次元官网网址�

The manager of the hotel, at 710 Fort St., went in around 10 a.m. to clean the room, which had been vacated by the evicted tenant.

While attempting to wipe up the chemical brew, the manB次元官网网址檚 nose and throat became irritated.

Victoria firefighters responded to the scene around 1:45 p.m., then called in the Capital Regional District Hazardous Materials Response Unit.

When police officers questioned the former tenant about the substance, B次元官网网址渉e gave them the information that led us to believe that it was not just a normal situation, and that the potential could be a lot worse,B次元官网网址� Lambert said. B次元官网网址淪o thatB次元官网网址檚 how we treated it. He said enough to really make us unsure about what we were getting into.B次元官网网址�

The man was taken to hospital for a mental health assessment. ItB次元官网网址檚 unlikely that he will be charged in connection with the incident, the fire chief said.

As firefighters raced in from across the region to put their hazmat training to work, Fort Street between Douglas and Blanshard Streets was closed to traffic.

The Victoria Emergency Management Agency evacuated the 100-unit hotel and tenants were sheltered for about two hours on B.C. Transit buses parked nearby.

Hazmat technicians suited up, entered the hotel room and tested the chemicals. After the all clear was given Fort Street was opened and tenants allowed to return to their rooms around 5:30 p.m.

Though the substance proved to be non-hazardous, the hotel manager was right to call emergency personnel.

B次元官网网址淭he one thing that IB次元官网网址檓 reading and listening to a lot (in the media) is, B次元官网网址極h, it was only household stuff,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Lambert said.

B次元官网网址淭he reality of it is, I can take chlorine bleach (for example) and mix it with a lot of other stuff, and it is not just household stuff anymore.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e have these (hazmat services) because people donB次元官网网址檛 understand that,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou pull your bathroom cleaners out and mix those puppies together B次元官网网址� it could gas you.B次元官网网址�

emccracken@vicnews.com