A suspicious package inside a social services office in Los Angeles caused alarm on Friday, prompting a call to Homeland Security and the evacuation of one floor of the five-story building, officials said.

The package containing an unknown substance was found in a fourth-floor room, where three or four people "came in close proximity to it," said Capt. Mike Brown of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

Those individuals were being evaluated to determine if they were subjected to a health hazard, Brown said.

The room was isolated, and the fourth floor of the building was evacuated, which affected about three dozen people, he said.

Homeland Security personnel were notified, and hazardous materials teams from the fire department and the sheriff's department were investigating, Brown said.

There was no report of injuries resulting from the package.

The Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services has offices on the fourth floor of the building, Brown said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2009)