At least seven people reported feeling ill and coughing after a mysterious odor wafted through Somis on Thursday night, but nobody was seriously injured, authorities said.

Ventura County firefighters noted the odor when they responded about 7:40 p.m. to reports of multiple people coughing and feeling ill in the area of Somis School, 5268 North St., said Bill Nash, a Ventura County Fire Department spokesman. Firefighters did not report taking anyone to the hospital.

Firefighters stayed on scene for almost an hour but couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from, Nash said.

Kris Hashimoto, who lives near the school, said she first noticed the irritating smell about 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

She couldn't identify the odor, which hung in the air near her home for about 45 minutes, but, she said, it smelled vaguely chemical. It gave her a coughing fit and nearly made her vomit, she said.

Hashimoto's husband, Mark, said whatever caused the odor made his eyes and nostrils burn and started him on a coughing fit that lasted at least 15 minutes.

"I never really smelled anything quite like it," he said.

Ventura County Air Pollution Control District officials said Friday they hadn't received any complaints about the mysterious odor.