The Robert B. Atwood Building in downtown Anchorage was evacuated for about an hour Monday afternoon due to the presence of an "electrical odor," according to the Anchorage Fire Department.
The smell was being investigated by the fire department around 3 p.m., said emergency medical service operations assistant chief Erich Scheunemann.
Shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, employees were heading back into the building, Grace Jang, spokesperson for Gov. Bill Walker, wrote in a text.
People inside the 20-floor office building were evacuating as the fire alarm went off when the fire department arrived on scene, Scheunemann said. The Atwood Building is home to the governor's office, among others.
The odor could be smelled from the first floor to the 10th floor, Scheunemann said.
The fire department hadn't yet found the source of the smell by about 3:10 p.m., Scheunemann said. Around 10 units had been sent to the building.
Most of the evacuated occupants went to the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center next door during the evacuation, Jang wrote in an email.