September 17, 2015
Workers at Philadelphia's City Hall 311 call center were sent home Thursday morning after an apparent bed bug infestation was discovered in the carpet on the building's first floor. It was later revealed that only one bug was found, but city officials evacuated the office as a precaution.
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Employees at the call center -- which handles nonemergency inquiries from residents and visitors -- were sent home while exterminators fumigated the office, according to an NBC 10 report.
Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for Mayor Michael Nutter, said 311 requests would be handled in the interim over social media and email.
There did not appear to be any bedbugs in City Hall outside the call center, but McDonald said that the bill for the extermination would cost the city approximately $2,500.
Officials expect the office to reopen Friday at 8 a.m.
