During a Sunday evening commute at Union Station, a Reddit user reported feeling a burning sensation in their mouth before beginning to cough.
“Within 30 seconds around 20 people were coughing or covering their mouth and trying to get out of the area,” they wrote on the platform.
“The thing that tripped me out was that it was completely odorless and colourless.”
Another Reddit user recalled similar events.
“Some girls said their lips and faces were burning,” they said. “I definitely felt dizzy and I’m still coughing and have a headache.”
At around 6 p.m., Toronto Fire Services (TFS) posted on X that it was on the scene for a CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) Level 2 Incident. It also stated that there were no reported injuries at the time.
About an hour and a half later, it posted that after further investigation, TFS crews “have ruled out any cause for concern,” and that crews were “clearing the scene.”
But social media users don’t think that response was enough.
“Do you seriously think this is sufficient commentary when we’re talking about hundreds of people (probably thousands) who were physically impacted by an unknown airborne chemical substance,” an X user questioned in response to the post by TFS.
“Exactly this. I want to know what the hell I was breathing in,” another X user said, replying to the above user. “There’s no way that was healthy. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
Some suggest it was spilled chemicals, others say it could have been a gas leak. Many who have been in similar situations say someone might have unleashed pepper spray.
Thus far, the TFS has not confirmed what the source was.
Now Toronto reached out to the City of Toronto for a comment but has not received a response in time of publication.
