North Myrtle Beach high-rise evacuated because of chemical smell

A refinished bathtub left in an residence without ventilation caused an odor and evacuation of Cresent Towers II in North Myrtle Beach on Thursday.

According to city spokesperson Patrick Dowling, the reported odor was found coming from a bathtub in an unoccupied unit that was refinished and sealed in the morning. Steps were not taken to ventilate the unit and the odor spread to other areas of the building.

Once the unit was ventilated, the odor disappeared, according to Dowling.

The smell was first believed to be coming from a janitorial closet.

"Apparently, when they opened the janitorial closet from which the odor was originally thought to be emanating, it was determined that the location was not the source," Dowling said.

"We emphasize that chemical readings taken at the scene are very low and that evacuation has been encouraged out of an abundance of caution," Dowling said. "The air conditioning system tends to spread the odor within the property."

Hannah Strong: 843-444-1765, @HannahLStrong

This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 12:15 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach high-rise evacuated because of chemical smell."