Hazmat Incident Closes Peachtree Street: Media Report

Atlanta firefighters closed a block of Peachtree Street on Thursday night to decontaminate an SUV loaded with cleaning chemicals, according to a media report.

Fire and rescue units reponded to the scene after the driver of the Chevrolet Avalanche stopped the vehicle on the city’s main thoroughfare and complained of trouble breathing, AJC.com reported. Firefighters closed the block between 14th and 15th streets for two hours as they waited on a hazardous-materials unit to arrive.

Janet Ward, a fire department spokeswoman, said the driver, an unidentified man, was also decontaminated and taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, but he was breathing on his own. She said the man works for an industrial pipe-cleaning company.