A faulty air condition forced evacuation of the five-story BancorpSouth building Wednesday in downtown Vicksburg.

At 11:39 a.m., employees at the bank at 820 South St., reported seeing smoke in the lobby and on the second floor, said deputy fire chief Craig Danczyk. About 30 people were milling around the building after its evacuation.

After investigating the building from the basement to the fifth floor, fire fighters discovered a malfunctioning air conditioner was leaking Freon, Danczyk said.

“Luckily there was no working fire and no structural damage,” Danczyk said.

Employees were allowed to return to the building at 12:20 p.m. after firefighters used fans to remove some of the Freon from the building. In vast quantities, Freon is dangerous, but not enough of the refrigerant leaked into the building to pose a problem, he said.