Roughly 30 residents and six pets were temporarily evacuated from an apartment complex in Riverside after firefighters caught a strong smell of chlorine after putting out a closet fire Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
City of Riverside firefighters were called to the 45-unit University Gardens complex in the 3700 block of Cranford Avenue just after noon regarding a structure fire in a maintenance closet with cleaning supplies near the pool, Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst said.
Firefighters noticed the smell after knocking down the fire and evacuated occupied apartments while a hazmat team was called, Vanderhorst said. They later determined the odor came from pool cleaning tablets in a storage room, and people were allowed back into the area by 4:30 p.m.
“Thankfully we didn’t have anybody displaced,” Vanderhorst said. “All residents were allowed back into their apartments and workers were allowed to go in and work on maintenance.”
The fire was located on the first floor of the three-story building. Its cause remained unclear Tuesday evening, Vanderhorst said.
One firefighter was taken to a hospital with a minor injury caused by the chlorine. No residents were injured, he said.