A brief carbon monoxide scare closed a part of the Rideau Centre early Friday afternoon.
Firefighters were called when the mall's carbon monoxide detectors went off just after noon on Friday. Samples taken on the first floor of the Rideau Centre showed high carbon monoxide; up to 150 parts per million.
"We start to get concerned anything above 10," district chief Michael MacCormac said. "Around 30 or 50 we start to think of it as very dangerous, and we're starting to put on masks."
MacCormac said the source was a gasoline-operated forklift in the basement of the mall "that may not be venting the way it should be."
The area was quickly evacuated, and fire officials said no one reported symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
It's unknown whether the forklift was operating as part of construction on Ottawa's light rail project nearby, or whether it was work on the mall itself.
The Ministry of Labour has been called in to investigate.
The section of the mall re-opened around 1:30 p.m.
