9 people treated after bear repellant accidentally discharged in SeaTac hotel

SEATAC, Wash. -- A canister of bear repellant was accidentally discharged Friday in a SeaTac hotel room, and nine people had to be treated for effects from the spray, the Kent Fire Department said.

Medics were dispatched to a hotel in the 19600 block of International Boulevard at 10:30 a.m. after employees reported that there was a possible chemical release that was making people gag and cough, the fire department said.

The hotel was evacuated as the smell got stronger and spread to several floors.

All nine people examined and treated were hotel employees. Two of them were  transported to a hospital as a precaution, the department said.

The staff member who found the canister of bear repellant did not know what it was and discharged the aerosol accidentally, fire officials said.