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The Madison Fire Department's Hazardous Incident Team contained a chemical spill inside a pharmaceutical company building Monday afternoon in University Research Park on the city's West Side, but two people were injured and taken to UW Hospital.

Fire Department spokesman Eric Dahl said the incident started at 4:14 p.m. and fire units were on the scene for about an hour. Twenty-five people inside the building at 645 Science Drive — the home of SAFC Inc., formerly Tetrionics - were evacuated after discussions with company representatives about the chemical involved and the spill size.

Members of the hazardous incident team, protected by chemical suits and breathing apparatus, entered the building to evaluate conditions. Except for the spill itself, everything checked out safe, Dahl said.

"The leak was stopped by then and there was no reaction going on," he said. "It wasn't spreading anywhere."

The spill consisted of less than two liters of the toxic chemical methyl bromoacetate and it was contained to one small room. The team used monitors to test the air quality and measure the chemical's pH levels before determining conditions were safe.

Dahl said he didn't know how the liquid spilled out of its container. The two people taken to the hospital suffered non-life-threatening injuries after getting some of the chemical on them, he said.

It's now the company's responsibility to clean up the spill or hire a contractor to do it, Dahl said. SAFC Inc. develops experimental drugs to treat cancer and other illnesses.