Fatal pesticide exposure triggers evacuation of Pompano Beach furniture warehouse
Pompano Beach, Florida – The Broward Sheriff’s Office has reported that a furniture warehouse in Pompano Beach was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon following the tragic deaths of two pesticide workers and the hospitalization of a third over the weekend.
The Baer’s Furniture warehouse, a large and bustling hub of commerce, was evacuated at approximately noon on Tuesday after local agencies reported that two employees of a pesticide company had passed away while working at the location. A third employee was admitted to a hospital for treatment.
The unsettling events began unfolding last Saturday, after the workers had completed their shift. Later that day, one of them began feeling ill and was taken to a hospital in Palm Beach County. It wasn’t until later that same day that the other two workers were discovered deceased, one in Hollywood and the other in Boynton Beach.
Hollywood Police Department officers reportedly found one of the workers, a man, dead inside a vehicle at the 1700 block of Taft Street. The authorities forced entry into the vehicle, but no hazardous chemicals were discovered emanating from it. The investigation is ongoing, and detectives are awaiting a cause of death ruling from the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Due to an abundance of caution and out of concern for the safety of Baer’s Furniture employees, the warehouse was evacuated on Tuesday. The Pompano Beach Fire Rescue conducted an inspection of the site for any hazardous materials, but thankfully, firefighters found nothing of concern.
After the inspection, Baer’s Furniture employees were permitted to return to the building later in the day. The tragedy is a stark reminder of the need for safety measures when handling potentially hazardous substances.
