STANLEY, N.C. -- Three bank employees were treated by medics after a can of tear gas ignited inside the bank's vault.
Officials said three employees had to be treated for burning eyes and throats, and one worker's boots had to be put in a biohazard bag.
The tear gas was a part of the security system inside the vault of Blue Ridge Savings in Stanley.
When the workers were moving shelves in the vault Thursday morning, some tear gas containers, put there years ago to deter robbers, were jarred loose.
WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C., reported that when they first arrived at the scene, medics had no idea the fumes were tear gas, but they knew they were powerful.
"We were checking to make sure (one man) was OK, and I was sitting beside him and (I) started smelling something and it started burning my eyes," said one medic.
Stanley police shut down part of Main Street as a precaution, and a hazmat team was called in, dressed up, and sent in to check out the bank.
"We treated this as a typical hazard-material incident where we didn't know what was there. (We) put the guys in full protective gear," said a police investigator.
The old security system clearly worked as intended, he said.
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Posted by: godfather
I love how the news advertises...Now if someone were plotting to rob the bank, they will know to bring gas masks.
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