A Margate hospital emergency room reopened Sunday morning after it was closed for six hours due to an odor from a pesticide a patient ingested at his home, according to Margate Fire Rescue.
Broward Sheriff's Office Hazmat Team responded to Northwest Medical Center to decontaminate a Fire Rescue crew who had been exposed to the chemical when the man vomited on them en route to the hospital, Dan Booker of Margate Fire Rescue said. Several firefighters were nauseous but were released.
Booker said that it smelled like "bug killer."
Paramedics responded to a Coconut Creek home early Sunday morning where they found the man unconscious in his front yard.
Booker said the man had ingested the commercial pesticide called malathion in what was reported as a possible suicide attempt.
At the hospital, doctors moved outside to treat the victim.
The patient is being kept in quarantine.
