1 Dead in Hazardous Materials Incident at San Jose Fairmont Hotel

More than 100 people were evacuated from the hotel

One person is dead in what authorities are calling a hazardous materials incident Saturday at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California.

At about 10 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to the hotel on a report of an attempted suicide on the 19th floor using chemicals, San Jose Fire Department Capt. Mitch Matlow said. The crew found the woman dead in a hotel room on the 19th floor, the fire captain said.

Hazmat teams worked to decontaminate nine people, mostly workers, who were exposed to the chemical which some said had an odor similar to rotten eggs.

Their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, he said. Three floors were evacuated.

"We were in our room on level 19 when all of a sudden we heard the panic alarm sound and then someone announced we needed to leave," said one hotel guest. "It was a funny smell, almost like gas." Her daughter recorded video of the alarms on the way out.

When the got outside, they learned what had happened. Inside, the hazardous materials team tried twice to enter the room, the second time adding protection and advanced testing equipment.

Another group of people was evaluated on the scene and not taken to the hospital, Matlow said. The chemicals have not been identified, and doing so is "a long, slow process," the fire captain said. He said they're testing each individual chemical and when the testing is done a report will be released. 

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