Crime & Safety
Regal Bethesda Evacuated After Leak of Substance Reported
Substance may be coolant from the HVAC system, according to Fire and Rescue.
The movie theater has been evacuated after a report of a leak of an unknown substance in one of the movie theaters, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. The substance may be coolant from the HVAC system, but investigators are still working to determine what it is, according to Capt. Oscar Garcia, a Fire and Rescue spokesman.
A hazmat unit was dispatched around 12:38 to the theater, located at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, and were still on the scene shortly before 1p.m. There were no injuries or illnesses reported, but no patrons were being allowed back into the theater, Garcia said.
"It appears to be some type of coolant from the HVAC system that has pooled at the bottom of the movie theater," Garcia said.
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Garcia couldn't yet say how much of the substance was spilled. The leak was contained as of 12:49, but the substance still remained. Hazmat teams are working with the theater's maintenance workers to try to identify the substance and come up with a cleanup plan, Garcia said.
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