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Costco incident similar to others

ANDREA J. WRIGHT / Statesman Journal

Marlene Ivey of Salem was at the Salem Costco earlier this month when several people fell ill, forcing the store’s evacuation. “I felt as if I was going to pass out,” she said. “I’ve had some post-physiological symptoms and reactions I’ve never had before.”

As with the other scares, officials have been unable to find a cause.

JODY LAWRENCE-TURNER
Statesman Journal
November 28, 2003

Whatever made 28 people sick at Costco last week remains a mystery.

But such incidents are not unheard of.

Evacuations at large retail stores in New Jersey and Florida in the past 18 months mirror what happened Nov. 18 in Salem.

Officials cannot say what caused dozens of people to suddenly become sick at Costco on Hawthorne Avenue SE, at a Wal-Mart last year in Mirimar, N.J., and this summer at The Publix supermarket in St. Petersburg, Fla.

In each of the emergencies, one sure fact is that public-safety agencies were tied up for several hours. Another is that the people who became sick say their symptoms were all too real.

Dr. Karen Landers, Marion County Health Department medical officer, suggested at the time of the Costco incident that victims had reacted to the circumstances of the event rather than exposure to something toxic. They became sick at the sight of other people becoming sick.

It may have started with one person having a seizure and hitting his head, she said.

Marlene Ivey of Salem, one of the first five people to become ill, does not buy that.

“I was light headed, dizzy and had a little bit of a sore throat,” she said. “I was staggering. I felt like I was going to fall over. Then I heard someone say, ‘We’ve got a fourth one.’”

Salem paramedic Bryan Lee was one of the first to arrive at Costco to tend to the victims.

“I would say the first five patients were definitely experiencing symptoms that needed to be looked at,” said Lee, a paramedic of 12 years. “They seemed to be genuine.”

Ivey, 46, said this week that she still feels ill.

“I understand the doctor’s logic,” she said. “But I think she needed to consider each individual in making her assessment. I found it really patronizing and a fairly easy label.”

In April 2002, authorities evacuated a Wal-Mart in Mirimar, N.J., after 17 people began complaining of nausea and vomiting. The store was closed for more than three hours while the cause was investigated.

In June 2003, The Publix supermarket in St. Petersburg, Fla., was evacuated after several people complained of throat irritation and coughing. Twenty-five people were affected.

The three incidents have common elements.

First, several people fell ill. They complained of throat irritation, nausea, dizziness — or a “metallic taste” in the mouth.

Store officials decided to evacuate, setting off a public chain of events. Public-safety officials — with anthrax scares and terrorist attacks in the back of their minds — ratcheted up the response. In the Salem incident, at least, even the FBI was notified.

Ambulances and the media arrived. Hazardous-materials teams donned protective yellow suits and gas masks.

Ivey, a former social worker with the state Department of Human Services, arrived at Costco about 11 a.m. on Nov. 18, “feeling great” and with 30 minutes to kill.

“I bought a shirt and went into the restroom to try it on,” she said. “When I came out, I noticed two people laying down, but they were being assisted, so I didn’t worry about it.”

Ivey said she was engrossed in her shopping and returned to the clothing area. When she returned to the restroom, employees indicated that they were evacuating the store and told her to hurry up.

“I was exiting the building and it hit me,” Ivey said. “I started to get dizzy, and I felt like I was going to drop. I told them, ‘I think I’m going to throw up.’”

She was taken outside and told to put her head between her legs.

“The employees treated the situation like it was a disaster,” she said. “They practically pushed me into the ambulance.

“I’ve never had anything like this happen before. I haven’t felt well since then. I’ve been super tired. I’ve felt sick to my stomach.”

The Record, a newspaper in New Jersey, reported that one of the Wal-Mart customers said he couldn’t see anything or smell anything but that there was a “metallic taste to it.”

A hazardous-materials team tested the environment and found nothing to explain the illnesses.

In St. Petersburg, a member of a hazardous-materials team told the St. Petersburg Times: “It either dissipated, or with the technology we have, we were unable to see anything. That’s a large building with a lot of air space in there and a good ventilation system. It goes away pretty quickly.”

Steve Hester, coordinator of Salem Fire Department’s hazardous-materials team, said it was the same at Costco. Workers tested for several tell-tale gases but found nothing.

Last month, firefighters in Keizer evacuated about 40 people from a Safeway grocery store on River Road N after several people complained of throat and eye irritation, rashes and difficulty breathing.

Hester said that members of the hazmat team were unable to figure out what caused 15 people to feel ill.

In that case, all of the people were near the front doors in one place and immediately felt the effects.

“By the time we got there, the victims were recovering,” he said.

The people at Costco became ill in different locations.

Lee, the paramedic at Costco, said it was after evaluating the patients that he felt something going on with his own throat. The incident commander encouraged him to have it checked out.

“I’ve experienced slight irritations similar to this after fires, but I thought I should have it looked at,” Lee said.

Lee was one of six paramedics who reported to the hospital’s emergency room after the incident.

“I don’t know what caused it,” Lee said. “We may never know.”

Statesman Journal librarian John Marikos contributed to this story.

Costco scene calm but confused

JODY LAWRENCE-TURNER, TARA MCLAIN AND DENNIS THOMPSON JR.
Statesman Journal
November 19, 2003

Firefighters and police officers descended on Costco about midday Tuesday in a fuss.

A helicopter hovered overhead. Media vehicles lined Mission Street SE. The commotion seemed to scream “this is something big” to onlookers.

Several people stood in the parking lot, while others driving by craned their necks to get a peek.

Local authorities, Costco employees and its customers were responding after five shoppers became ill and fell to the cement floor inside the store.

Amity resident Ann Detrick said she had been in the store for a half-hour and was standing near the checkout area when she became shaky.

“I was just standing there, and all of a sudden, I just started having a seizure,” said Detrick, 59.

She said she didn’t fall but was unable to understand what paramedics were saying to her when they arrived. She said she had a brain injury earlier in the year and is predisposed to seizures.

Detrick said she didn’t smell anything but had a chemical taste in her mouth afterward.

Detrick’s aunt, Mary Dollar, said she did not smell or taste anything.

About the time that Detrick had her seizure, Dollar noticed two people on the floor near the front of the store.

“Because there was a man here and a woman over here, I thought there may have been a fight,” Dollar said.

Other customers were generally calm but confused and curious about what was going on.

Vanessa Hunt was with her 6-month-old son, shopping near the meat and cheese department at the back of the store, when she was ordered to leave.

Hunt left her full cart and exited out the front of the building. She said she saw a person on the floor at the front of the store.

She said she spoke with a man who was standing in line near another man who collapsed. Hunt said it was odd that one man had fallen ill while another next to him was unaffected.

Traffic around the shopping center continued to flow, although it was tough for people who wanted to go to businesses across Hawthorne Road SE such as the Denny’s restaurant or the Mill Creek Inn.

Bend resident Jim Bailey, 48, said he got stuck in traffic when he tried to turn right onto Hawthorne Road from Mission Street to get to the motel.

“I got in the turning lane and the traffic was getting out of the turning lane,” Bailey said. “I was stuck for a few minutes.”

Bailey ended up using a side road to get around to the inn.

The evacuation created a flood of customers for Denny’s as Costco evacuees went across the street for something to eat.

“We got nailed,” said restaurant manager Karen Muzgay. “I had to take a wait list. I can seat 200 people, and I was full for about two hours.”

Muzgay said she overheard many people talking about the evacuation. “There were people stranded, not knowing what was going on,” she said. “I had folks who were planning on shopping and were kind of confused about what happened.”

Muzgay didn’t see anyone suffering any illness. “Everyone here seemed okay,” she said.