ST. PETERS, Mo. — The Costco in St. Peters reopened Thursday after a hazardous gas spread throughout the building Wednesday night.
The Central County Fire & Rescue team responded to the location near Mid Rivers Mall at about 7:30 p.m. Employees noticed what they thought was smoke and activated the fire alarm. Firefighters who got to the scene discovered the smoke was actually a hazardous gas known as R-22.
Fire investigators believe a line supplying refrigerant gas for the building’s coolers and freezers burst, sending the dangerous material throughout the entire warehouse. Central County Fire & Rescue credited the employees’ fast actions with pulling the fire alarm and calling for help.
“Their attentiveness and quick action in doing so immediately set in motion the evacuation plan and resulted in all occupants of the building successfully evacuating the building,” the fire department wrote on Facebook Wednesday night.
St. Charles County Ambulance District crews treated two people at the scene for breathing problems.
Emergency crews worked for several hours to ventilate the building and clear out the gas.
The business was open to the public at the time of the incident and was closed for part of the day Thursday. Costco was reopened to customers of 2 p.m.
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