Mace May Have Caused Fitness Center Evacuation

Firefighters say Mace may have caused the heavy fumes at an LA Fitness Center in La Habra on Tuesday night that left dozens of people feeling ill and sent eight to the hospital with minor injuries.

Investigators found no evidence of the substance, but firefighters detected a smell suggesting Mace, and other substances such as pepper spray have been ruled out, a spokesman said.

The fitness center, usually open until midnight, was immediately closed and about 200 patrons evacuated.

It was reopened on schedule at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday after firefighters made sure the fumes were gone.

La Habra Fire Department Operations Chief Ed Lazar said Mace probably was released near the front door, where the odor was strongest, and was spread throughout much of the 58,000-square-foot building by the air-conditioning system and by breezes entering the building every time the front door was opened.

Officials are still investigating whether Mace was released deliberately or unintentionally.

“It really wouldn’t take that much in the air to start making people sick,” Lazar said. “You wouldn’t even need a whole can.”

The eight people taken to hospitals were released by early Wednesday.

The pungent odor hit the fitness center about 9 p.m. Patrons immediately began filing out in an orderly fashion, some observers said, though many fell to the ground with choking spells after passing the front door.

“It was surreal,” said Trevor Speer, who had been playing racquetball but began choking once he came near the front door.

For many users of the club, the primary frustration was that firefighters could not let them get back inside, where they had keys to their vehicles and homes.

Others showed up expecting to get in a late-night workout, only to be told to come back the next day.