A chemical spill prompted firefighters to evacuated a Harvard Medical School building for several hours Tuesday afternoon after a doctor working in a lab spilled several large bottles of acids, according to firefighters.

The doctor went to get a bottle off a shelf in a 10th floor lab on Avenue Louis Pasteur at about 3 p.m. and inadvertantly knocked three bottles containing acids, which rolled off the shelf and smashed, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

The doctor, who was dressed in protective lab clothing, followed protocol and immediately jumped under a lab shower to decontaminate herself, said MacDonald, who told the Herald no one was injured in the spill.

MacDonald said Harvard hired a cleanup company to clean up the spilled bottles, which were about two liters each and contained acetic and hydrochloric acids.

Acetic acid is flammable and both acids are irritants. They can cause burns if you come in contact with them and they can cause some distress if you inhale the chemicals, said MacDonald.

Boston firefighters, who sealed off the street during the incident, also conducted air quality readings to ensure the 10-story medical school building was safe, according to MacDonald.

Harvard Medical School issued a statement saying the chemical spill on the buildings top floor happened in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology and confirmed the top three floors of the building would remain evacuated until further notice.

A Harvard Medical spokeswoman declined to say whether the incident would prompt a review of chemical storage practices in the labs.

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Acid spill at Harvard Med School prompts evacuation