Investigation: Members of the Salisbury-Rowan County Hazard Materials Team and firefighters inspect the East Wind Apartments off Boundary Street on Thursday. Photo by Brett Clark, Salisbury Post.

By Jim McNally

Salisbury Post

EAST SPENCER — Emergency officials evacuated an apartment complex Thursday after one resident became ill and two medical crews responding to his apartment also felt ill.

County officials called in a hazardous materials team to investigate and, eventually, blamed rotten food in the unit at East Wind Apartments on Boundary Street.

Officials said electricity had been cut off to the apartment.

Most East Wind residents are elderly and/or infirm. And for nearly five hours Thursday, many of the tenants at the 50-unit complex had to remain outside their homes while emergency workers investigated the cause of the illnesses.

The complex played host to some 15 emergency vehicles and dozens of police officers, firefighters, Emergency Medical Services workers and Red Cross representatives much of Thursday afternoon.

A good portion of the complex's parking area was taped off as workers from the Salisbury-Rowan County Hazard Materials (HAZMAT) Team donned air-tight suits and conducted an apartment-by-apartment search for any type of contaminant.

During the investigation, Frank Thomason, director of the Rowan County Emergency Services Department, said he did not want to speculate on what appeared to be an airborne contaminant.

At first, officials believed a contaminant was emanating from apartment 23, where a man identified as Emory Woodson was staying when he called to complain of respiratory troubles Wednesday night.

EMS workers responded to Woodson's call and took him to Rowan Regional Medical Center. Then, the EMS workers reported "feeling the effects," according to Rowan County Fire Marshall Arthur Delaney.

On Thursday, other emergency workers were sent to investigate the problem and also began feeling ill.

That's when officials decided to call in the HAZMAT team.

Investigators said they were considering whether pesticide had been spread recently, until they discovered the rotten food.

Investigators found the food in apartment 24, directly above Woodson's unit.

Delaney believes there may not be a relationship between Woodson's problems and those suffered by the emergency workers. Woodson may have had a virus, and the emergency workers came into contact with mold from the rotted food. The emergency workers reported tightness in their chests and minor nausea, Delaney said.

Precautions: Firefighters evacuated sections of the East Wind apartments so that HAZMAT crews could inspect some of the units after EMS personnel suffered respiratory problems. Photo by Brett Clark, Salisbury Post.

"We're thinking now that it was just a coincidence," Delaney said.

None of the emergency workers was hospitalized, but Woodson's condition was not known.

Emergency workers sealed the refrigerator and stove in apartment 24 with metallic tape and carted them outside for disposal.

Rhonda Bumgartner, who lives in apartment 21, beneath and cater-cornered to 24, said she only saw the resident of the apartment for the first time as he was carrying beer and salvaged food from his apartment soon after the ordeal had ended.

"I didn't even know anyone lived there," she said. "But I think I smelled some things every once in a while seeping into my kitchen."

Officials did not identify the resident of apartment 24.

Fisher Realty owns and manages East Winds Apartments. A phone call to Fisher Realty was deferred to an after-hours answering service.

Residents there pay rent equivalent to 30 percent of their monthly incomes, and a federal rent subsidy program pays the rest.

Almost all East Winds residents suffer from disabilities that limit or prevent their employment, officials said.

Officials called the Red Cross to the complex to help the disabled residents and prepare them for temporary lodging in case a full-blown evacuation was required, according to Sherry Smith, a director with the Elizabeth Hanford Dole Chapter.

As tenants sat around outside Thursday, Darryl Workman, who lives in apartment 20 and walks with a cane, said, "Everyone's got bad backs, and half of us are crippled here. I don't know what's wrong, but I wish they would fix it so I can go back inside."

Contact Jim McNally at 704-797-4264 or jmcnally@salisburypost.com.