Thread by @Brian_Rokos

The Riverside Fire Department hazardous materials team is at the Hampton Inn on Riverwalk Parkway. I’m trying to find out what’s happening.

Battalion Chief Tony Perna told me an employee checking a room found a black and white powdery substance in a baggie under a dresser. He opened it up and became dizzy. He went downstairs and collapsed. He was hospitalized.

A hazmat team is preparing to suit up and enter the hotel.

These are decontamination pools for when firefighters emerge from the hotel. They’ll get hosed down.

A hazmat crew member is suiting up.

It appears the hotel is still open. Two Cal Fire hand crews just marched in for some rest.

These hazmat suits aren’t very easy to put on.

Six firefighters have suited up. That’s two to enter the room, two to rescue them if needed and two to decontaminate them when they come out, Battalion Chief Tony Perna told me.

Now doing the debriefing before entering.

There’s a lot of methodical safety preparation before anyone goes in.

And they’re entering the hotel.

I’ll leave this as a cliffhanger and watch for the Fire Department news release. Hopefully a safe outcome.

A quick update: Firefighters were unable to find any powdery substance, and upon further questioning, the man's story seemed to change, Perna told me. He did have a real medical emergency.