AUBURN – A half-dozen people were taken to a Lewiston hospital Wednesday night after they experienced breathing and other health problems while dining at Gippers Sports Grill.

Several people who were inside the restaurant said they began coughing and wheezing all at once while they were eating or sitting at the bar at about 7:30 p.m.

Fire and rescue crews treated several people with oxygen and examined others outside the restaurant. Tests to measure air quality inside Gippers and inspections of the vents later proved inconclusive.

No noxious chemicals were found in the air and the source of the maladies remained a mystery.

Some reported a sweet aroma in the air inside the restaurant when the problems began. They then suffered scratchy throats, coughing and other symptoms.

“It’s like pepper spray, but it didn’t bother my eyes,” said one man who was inside the building and who did not want to be identified. “It almost had a sweet smell. A bunch of people just got up and went outside.”

Of the symptoms reported, including mild nausea, nobody inside reported eye irritation, which is common with pepper spray, police said.

A Gippers employee went outside coughing and suffered difficulty breathing, witnesses said.

“She was just gasping for air,” one man said.

That woman was taken to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center. She and the others were expected to be discharged later Wednesday.

Most of those affected were seated on the side of the dining area closest to the entrance, witnesses said. A few on the other side of the room reported less dramatic symptoms or none at all.

Firefighters went to the roof of the building and examined vents. They also inspected the interior and measured the air for carbon monoxide and other potential dangerous fumes.

None was found.

The building was briefly cleared while firefighters investigated. After it was deemed safe, customers and employees were allowed back inside.