COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado Springs police are investigating a homemade chemical bomb explosion at a Colorado Springs apartment complex.

It happened around 11 p.m. Monday night at Stonebrook Apartments, located in the 4000 block of Tappan Drive.

Officers originally responded to a report of shots fired at the location.



At the scene, officers found the exploded homemade bomb.

Authorities say the bomb was made from a soft drink bottle, chemicals and aluminum foil.

Fire officials were able to diffuse the bomb with a neutralizing agent.

Authorities said no injuries were reported, and no suspects had been identified.

A CRANBOURNE North resident cooking a box of chillis in an electric wok caused a chemical emergency when neighbours were overcome by fumes on Tuesday last week.
Five ambulances, a Cranbourne CFA unit and a Hazmat response vehicle from Dandenong CFA were called to Lawless Drive when about 10 residents were affected by the chilli fumes. The Hazmat unit was unable to detect the cause of the fumes because it was organic so a CFA crew was forced to rely on sniffing out the source.

Intensive care paramedic David Llewelyn said an ambulance arrived just before 10.30pm to treat two men who were coughing and having trouble breathing, and more ambulances arrived as the number of affected people grew.

"We had up to 10 people who were coughing and were dizzy and nauseated." He said the fumes reached houses up to 150 metres away.

"We decided to do a doorknock of other homes to make sure no one else had been overcome, while the CFA worked to find the source of the fumes. It emerged someone was roasting strong chillies in the backyard and that's what caused the fumes."

Millburn Firefighters and Police, along with Essex County’s Bomb Squad and Nutley’s Hazardous Materials team, called in the state Department of Environmental Protection team on Friday night to test chemicals that had leaked from cracked 50-year-old bottles in a Millburn garage.

At about 9:30 p.m., DEP officials performed tests on the chemicals and  determined they did not pose a danger to the homeowners or the neighborhood, but called  in a contractor to have them properly removed, said Millburn Fire Battalion Chief Robert Eshavarria.

Phil Kirsch, the owner of the home on Cedar Street, said the bottles have been in his garage for at least 50 years – ever since his father, a scientist who is now 93, worked in pharmaceuticals and brought them home.

Pool shed fire requires HAZMAT call: Plumsteadville and Ottsville firefighters extinguished a pool shed fire on Creek Road early Thursday morning. Plumsteadville Fire Capt. Matthew Overbeck said that firefighters were called to the blaze shortly before 7 a.m. and found the pool shed of a residence engulfed in flames. A HAZMAT team was called to assist as emergency workers blocked runoff from the fire from getting into a nearby stream. Officials were concerned about chlorine and other pool chemicals which had been stored in the shed. The Bucks County Fire Marshal's Office said the fire remains under investigation, but it is not believed to be suspicious.

RESIDENTS in Sheffield were evacuated from their homes in a huge emergency operation after a man was found dead beside a quantity of poisonous chemicals.

Firefighters, some in boiler suits and gas masks, were sent to a house in Holland Place in the Highfield district yesterday afternoon, as neighbours were ushered from their homes amid contamination fears.

Police confirmed the body of a young man, thought to be in his 20s, had been found by his housemates.

London Road was cordoned off from its junction with Abbeydale Road to Witney Street, and bus routes were diverted as experts were drafted in to assess the “potentially hazardous” substance.

LYNCHBURG -- A suspected methamphetamine lab in Lynchburg shuts down a busy street and evacuates an apartment building.

It happened at a boarding home on Park Avenue today.

That's where paramedics responded for a medical call.

Police say when they arrived, they found suspicious chemicals in the patients unit.

A Hazmat team removed the possible methamphetamine lab.

One block on Park Avenue, between Stuart Street and Langhorne Road closed for most of the day to protect the public.

Police also evacuated tenants for about eight hours.

The Denver Fire Department hazmat team along with department personnel set up outside of the 1600 Glenarm Place Apartments on Sunday. Authorities said a man on the 12th floor killed himself with a chemical. (Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post )
A man who committed suicide in a downtown luxury high-rise Sunday night also caused a hazardous-material scare with the chemical he used to kill himself, authorities said.

The 12th-floor resident in the 1600 Glenarm Place Apartments used hydrogen cyanide, said Denver Fire spokesman Phil Champagne.

The residents in the apartment below him saw a liquid dripping through their vents about 7 p.m., he said.

The 11th and 12th floors were evacuated immediately, and police were monitoring other floors. No one outside the building was ever at risk, Champagne said. Glenarm Place is a 33-story building with 330 units.

Two residents were taken to the hospital, but their conditions were not immediately known.

Hydrogen cyanide is a poisonous, flammable liquid used in industrial processes and has a history in chemical warfare.

No information about the man was released. He was found dead in his closet, Champagne said.

Three weeks ago, Tequesta Police Lt. Jason Turner heard in a class taught by a New York state fire marshal that young people are now far more likely to commit suicide by inhaling a mix of common household chemicals.

On April 9, three teenagers used those same chemicals to create bombs that exploded in local neighborhoods, police say.

After learning that the teens discovered how to create the bombs on YouTube, and knowing how easy it is to buy household chemicals, Turner is concerned that bomb-making could morph into an even more serious problem in Palm Beach County.

“I looked at the chemical compound they’re using,” Turner said. “And it just so happened these acid bombs they were making were the same type of chemical that’s being used in a lot of these chemical suicides around the nation and internationally.”

The United States ranks second in the world in the number of chemical suicides, trailing only Japan.

HOUSTON – Residents of a one-block area around Colonial Park in West University had to evacuate Thursday after a hazmat spill.
City officials said muriatic acid, a chemical used to clean pools, was spilled at the park, which is located in the 4100 block of Byron.
The acid is corrosive, but officials said it was contained and posed no threat to water or sewer systems.
As a precaution, residents within a block of the park were asked to either evacuate or shelter in place.

The smell that forced the evacuation of a couple of Altamonte Springs buildings on Orange Drive was spilled fuel.

Altamonte Springs Senior Officer Robert Pelton said a man had taken his motorized scooter inside of his Royal Arms Condominiums unit overnight and it leaked fuel inside the apartment.

The man was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation.

CORNELIUS – Investigators now believe that spontaneous combustion of papers and chemical cleaners in a recycling bin started a fire that destroyed two houses and damaged two others Friday, April 8, in the Glenridge community.

Investigators have sent evidence to a lab to determine the chemicals involved, Capt. Andrew Bridges, of Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue, said.

No one was injured in the conflagration.

The bin was sitting next to the side of the house at 10246 Meadow Crossing Lane, and the fire quickly moved to the home’s vinyl siding, which is petroleum-based, Bridges said Tuesday, April 12. The flames raced up the side and spread quickly through the attic, which did not have interior firewalls.

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - Shreveport Fire investigators want to warn people to be careful when checking your mail. They have found 3 bombs in mailboxes since Saturday. The Fire Department says this type of explosive is usually in a bottle, possibly a soft drink bottle, with a chemical odor.

They've arrested 2 teenaged boys for allegedly making the devices. They think the boys found how to make them online.  If convicted, the boys could face up to 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

So far, only one man suffered minor injuries, but they say it could have been a lot worse.

"Very dangerous. Very volatile. These are basically household chemicals that are being mixed together, but they can have a very volatile reaction," said Chief Scott Wolverton with the Shreveport Fire Department. 

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Winston-Salem fire officials said Sunday a leaking can of tear gas forced an evacuation at a neighborhood.
It happened on Pacific Street, near Pineview Drive and Rural Hall Road at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

Officials said someone found a suspicious package at a home that caused skin irritation.
As a precaution, fire officials asked residents near the home to evacuate during the investigation.

It can cost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars to homeowners, landlords and motel and hotel operators when it comes to ridding the toxins left behind by meth cooks.

The Tennessee Meth Task Force reported 2010 was a record year for clandestine methamphetamine seizures in Tennessee, according to figures provided by TMTF Director Tommy Farmer. The 2,082 cases in 2010 surpassed the previous record of 1,559 in 2004.

“The prior record was achieved in 2004, before the Meth Free Tennessee Act and Combat Meth Act were passed on state and federal levels,” Farmer said.

A Pine Street woman’s arrest marked the first meth lab bust in the city since the federal fund dedicated to cleaning up the noxious chemicals ran dry in February, leaving local agencies to foot the decontamination bill.

Jessica B. McCall, 29, was alone at her parents’ Pine Street house on Tuesday afternoon when the Bristol Virginia Police Department arrived on a tip. The house smelled strongly of chemicals, police said, and McCall apparently told officers they could search the home.

Police said they unzipped a purse hidden in a closet and chemical steam from a cooking one-pot meth lab rolled out. Police found six more “cook bottles,” along with Sudafed, Coleman fuel and cold packs – all ingredients of methamphetamine, according to court records.

Sheena West thought the odor permeating her home was roach spray. Renee Grimes' husband told her he smelled something rotten in the apartment.

They were among the more than two dozen people evacuated Wednesday after several people in the Hays Manor housing complex in McKees Rocks were sickened by fumes from a herbicide a worker was spraying on the lawn, said Alvin Henderson Jr., acting chief of the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services.

Ten people -- four of them children -- were taken to hospitals where they were treated and released, said Charles Maritz, a battalion chief for the McKees Rocks Volunteer Fire Department.

"The worker said he sprayed about 9:15 a.m. He said he was an old farmer and that he mixed the herbicide with kerosene so it would stick (to the lawn)," Maritz said.

No injuries were reported Tuesday morning in a chemical spill at a Matthews apartment complex, police say.

The spill was reported shortly after 9:30 a.m. at the Bexley Apartments, in the 12800 block of Vinings Creek Drive. That is off East John Street, near the Interstate 485 interchange.

A spokeswoman for Matthews police said the spill happened in a storage building near the apartments' swimming pool, and the leak was confined to the building.

Charlotte's Hazmat team was called to help the Matthews Fire Department, but the chemical vapors had dissipated by the time crews arrived.

Concentrated hydrogen peroxide that leaked from its container caused a fire in a home in Indiana Borough, according to a state police fire marshal.

Indiana fire Chief Paul Koons said firefighters went to a Washington Street home at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The fire spread from a hallway closet to the basement and took about 10 minutes to extinguish, Koons said.

Four of the firefighters, including Koons, had chemical burns that had eaten holes through their gloves and uniform pants, he said. In all, 13 firefighters were exposed to the chemical.

"It basically turned white where it contacted me, like really, really dry skin. It burned like you were putting needles in your hands," he said.

One firefighter used his cell phone to find the treatment for the burns, a thorough washing with water, which firefighters did at the scene and later at the fire station, Koons said.

Hydrogen peroxide, concentrated at 35 percent, typically is added to water and used as a disinfectant on produce and metal food containers.

Koons said diluted peroxide is used around the house, but in this case a crack developed in the plastic storage jug.

Fire personnel say they heard explosions and also smelled a strange chemical odor coming from inside the trailer. The Flathead County Sheriff's Department later discovered that medical marijuana cardholders had been attempting to convert marijuana into hash.

Butane, which is a highly flammable substance, was used in this illegal conversion process, and is believed to be responsible for sparking the fire and explosions. Investigators say incidents like this one are becoming more common in the Flathead Valley.

"We've seen an increasing number of marijuana-related incidents and fires as you can imagine, and it's relatively out of control," commented Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry.

A PENSIONER sparked a full-scale chemical alert at an old folk’s home in South Tyneside.

A 15-strong team of firefighters, plus an anti-contamination unit, tackled the incident at Calf Close House in Calf Close Lane, Jarrow.

Elderly residents were evacuated from the upper floor of the sheltered complex just after 5.45pm yesterday.

The alarm was raised by a 78-year-old woman in a first floor flat who felt a burning sensation in her throat.

Watch manager Trevor Smith, of Hebburn fire station, said: “This woman suffered a stinging throat and sore eyes and alerted us as a chemical smell filled her flat.

“It is believed ammonia was released after pipework was ruptured at the back of a fridge, which had been pushed against a wall.

“A total of nine residents were evacuated from the upper floor and moved to a communal room downstairs.

POTOMAC, Md. (WUSA) -- Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Graham says hazmat and explosives crews are on scene at a home in the 9200 block of Inglewood Drive in Potomac on Wednesday night.

According to the chief, they are investigating an odor coming from a house there. Indications are that the smell comes from some sort of explosive material.

No explosives have been seen.

TACOMA -- A corrosive liquid left on a trooper's car that was vandalized at his home prompted a hazardous materials response at two separate locations around the Tacoma area Tuesday morning.
The trooper came out to his car in the morning and found a pink substance had been poured on his patrol car and an empty container was sitting next to the vehicle, said patrol spokesman Guy Gill.

The trooper bagged up the container and drove it to the state patrol office on 112th Street East in Parkland, officials said.

But once there, officials called a hazmat team to the patrol's office to determine the source of the liquid, and the trooper was taken to a local hospital just to be checked out and was later released. He was the only person exposed, officials said.

KENT, Wash. -- Dozens of people evacuated a downtown Kent apartment building after some reported difficulty breathing late Sunday night.
Police said 50 evacuated the building on West Smith Street and a hazmat team responded.
Firefighters used a large fan to clear out the fumes from what they determined was pepper spray.
One person went to the hospital to get checked out but everyone else was OK.
There was no word on where the pepper spray came from.

Authorities are investigating the discovery of acid on seats in a GRTC Transit System bus that left a girl with leg burns.

Richmond fire Lt. Shawn L. Jones said the girl was taken to VCU Medical Center for treatment of second-degree burns on her knees after coming in contact with one or more seats in the bus late Sunday.

Jones said results of state lab testing came back this morning and showed that the chemical was a strong acid. Beyond that, the tests were unable to determine exactly what type of acid it was, he said.

"We believe it was an accidental release of product," Jones said.

A DeSoto County homeowner got a scare over the weekend when a homemade chemical bomb exploded in a mailbox.

DeSoto County Sheriff Bill Rasco said authorities aren't sure when the bomb was placed in the mailbox at the home on Braybourne Cross in the Braybourne Subdivision, just east of Olive Branch off of Miss. 302.

"The homeowners had been out of town at a family reunion, and when they returned Sunday they found their mailbox had been disfigured by the homemade bomb," Rasco said.

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No one was injured by the bomb, which was made of Drano and aluminum foil.

Rasco said the device -- a plastic two-liter Mountain Dew bottle that contained the Drano and shredded foil -- was placed in the mailbox.

SUDBURY, Mass. -- The bomb squad was called to a home in Sudbury for a possible explosive device on Thursday by a mom who was suspicious of her teenage son. Hazmat crews were also on hand.

State and local police continue to keep a close eye on the home at 28 Firecut Lane, where the bomb squad destroyed a device they called potentially hazardous and explosive on Thursday.

“It’s frightening. The family is a very nice family,” said Steve Saloman, neighbor. “We’ve actually hired the boy to help out with snow removal during the winter.”

Neighbors say the family at the house includes two teenage boys and younger children.

Investigators say the mother came to the police station and explained that one of her sons was mixing chemicals.

The boy told them the chemicals were in a bottle in the house.

Using a remote control robot and an explosive charge of their own, police say the bomb squad rendered the mixture safe.

Odessa, Texas - A West Odessa neighborhood was put on alert Thursday as Hazmat crews combed a home on the 700 block of West Moss Avenue, analyzing what they called suspicious chemicals that could be sued to build a bomb.

Suspicious chemicals reported to be inside the West Odessa home drew the attention of several law enforcement agenciesThursday morning, even prompting hazmat crews to venture inside and investigate.

Three substances initially discovered appeared to be precursor chemicals.

"A precursor chemical is if you combine certain chemicals in a certain order, you could have the potential for a bomb," says Ector County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman, Sergeant Gary Duesler.

That's why authorities took the report and finding so seriously, but the threat turned out to be less than was originally assumed.

"Final testing of them showed that they weren't being used in a manner which would indicate that they were being used as an explosive,” says Midland FBI Agent Matt Espendshade.

He believes the effort was necessary, especially considering recent events in West Texas.

Hawthorne Elementary School in Boise was placed on lockdown for about an hour Thursday afternoon, as Boise Fire and HAZMAT crews tried to identify a chemical found in a nearby house.

The school was placed on lockdown "simply as a precautionary measure," according to Boise Fire Dept. spokeswoman Lynn Hightower. "We didn't want the students going out into the playground."

The backyard of the house where the chemical was found backs up to the school yard.

Boise Police determined the chemicals in the home are not illegal.

Residents living next door to the house where the chemical was found were evacuated at one point.

A tip from a citizen prompted police to search the home for the chemicals.

An elderly woman from Brighton who died after ingesting cyanide on Tuesday left a note in Russian mentioning the cyanide and warning family members to be careful, according to Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department.

An investigation into the cause of death of the woman, who police identified this afternoon as Olga Tretyakov, 72, is ongoing -- including the question of how she obtained the cyanide. She was a research technician in a laboratory at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Bill Schaller, a spokesman for Dana-Farber, said police informed the hospital of Tretyakov's death Tuesday afternoon.

"She had been a valued member of our research community for more than 20 years, and we are deeply saddened by this loss," Schaller said. "We are working closely with the Boston police to learn more about the circumstances of her death."

Cyanide compounds are often used in biomedical research laboratories. Schaller said it was not known whether Tretyakov would have had access to the chemical in the laboratory where she worked.

Port Huron Fire Department crews discovered a home meth lab after responding to a house fire about 11 p.m. Sunday at 1025 Court St.

The fire was reported by the home’s two occupants, one of whom had a chemical burn on his hand, Port Huron Police Sgt. Roger Wesch said.

During the course of extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered chemicals and containers indicative of a meth lab, Wesch said, and contacted the police department.

The fire started in a second-story room, which sustained the majority of the damage Port Huron Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Greg Garry said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but appears to have stemmed from a chemical incident, Wesch said.

A potentially dangerous device found in a Boone mailbox led authorities to seek help from a Wilkes County explosives team and close Roby Greene Road for more than two hours Sunday evening.
A resident in the 3000 block of Roby Greene Road opened the roadside mailbox to find an unusual item, prompting a call to 911 at about 4 p.m., according to an e-mail from Sheriff Len Hagaman.
Officers from the Watauga County Sheriff's Office who arrived at the scene requested that the Meat Camp Volunteer Fire Department and the Wilkes County Explosive Ordinance Division also respond.
The team determined that the object was a chemical catalyst/reaction vessel similar to others that have surfaced in Wilkes and Caldwell counties, Hagaman said.
The items are very dangerous and use several highly reactive chemicals. Anyone who finds a similar object should not touch or go near it, as they can react violently and cause burns, severe injuries or death, Hagaman said.
The road was closed to traffic until about 6:30 p.m. while the officers removed the device, which is being processed for evidence.

KANNAPOLIS — Two people were severely injured in a chemical explosion and fire in Kannapolis around 7 p.m. today.

A 40-year-old female has been airlifted to Baptist Hospital with burns over 36 percent of her upper body, authorities said. The explosion occurred at 1935 Angela Lane, according to the Kannapolis Police Department. The department did not have the woman’s name and Kannapolis firefighters were not available by phone.

A second victim, the woman's nephew, was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-NorthEast in Concord. The patient's condition was not available. The woman threw what she thought was diesel fuel on a bonfire, according to her brother, who spoke to a Post photographer. The chemical turned out to be gasoline, he said. The female victim caught fire, and her nephew attempted to put out the flames when he was injured. Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a house fire and a chemical reaction at a home in Northeast Portland.
The fire broke out at a home on NE Sumner Street around 7:15 p.m. on Thursday.
Upon arrival, firefighters saw heavy flames coming from the front of the house. But when the crew sprayed water on the fire, a chemical reaction occurred and produced what looked like electrical arcing.
"Firefighters had to think on their feet to move past this reaction and stop the fire before it spread to the attic," said Portland Fire Capt. Jamie Klum.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in about 20 minutes. Commanders called in extra resources to rotate crews in the freezing temperatures and make sure that firefighters could stay safe and warm.
Damage from the fire is estimated at $20,000. No one was hurt, and the occupant of the home is staying with family members.
"Most house fires are like a big chemistry experiment," said Portland fire official Paul Corah. "There are chemicals in the average household that would surprise people and can impact how a fire behaves."

MIAMI, Okla. — Firefighters believe that chemical fumes created during remodeling of a Miami home may have caused a flash fire early Wednesday that damaged a portion of the unoccupied house.

The Miami Fire Department responded at 12:39 a.m. to 1910 G St. N.W. and found a smoldering fire in a bathroom at the back of the single-story structure.

Fire Capt. Robert Wright said no one was home at the time, and no injuries were reported. Wright said the fire had extended slightly into the attic before firefighters arrived.

The owner of the residence, Butch Crockett, told firefighters that he had been using a chemical to remove caulking and glue in the bathroom as part of remodeling the house and was using some candles to help mask the chemical smell.

Wright said it appeared that fumes had caused a flash fire that turned into a smoldering blaze because of a lack of oxygen in the room.

SHELBY COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - Five individuals have been charged in two separate Shelby County meth lab busts which occurred during a 24 hour time frame last week.

After responding to a chemical explosion at a Montevallo home Feb. 18, the Shelby County Sherriff's Office and fire department personnel continued to investigate the cause of the fire.

Officials entered the residence with protective equipment and identified chemicals inside the home as ones used to produce methamphetamine. Two of the people inside the home at the time of the explosion were taken to the hospital for injuries from the fire and another person fled the scene before deputies arrived.

"Using methamphetamine is dangerous.  Making methamphetamine is even more dangerous.  Put the two together and tragedy is close behind," said Lieutenant Chris George, commander of the drug task force.

As a result of that investigation, Tracey Edward Boothe, 41, of Montevallo, Jerime Wayne Dunnaway, 39 of Montevallo, and Tommy Rodger Carden, 45, of Alabaster were charged with unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance of the first degree.  Boothe and Dunnaway are currently being held in the Shelby County jail with bonds of $500,000 each.

Texas Resident Arrested on Charge of Attempted Use of Weapon of Mass Destruction
Suspect Allegedly Purchased Bomb Materials and Researched U.S. Targets
WASHINGTON – Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, a citizen of Saudi Arabia and resident of Lubbock, Texas, was arrested late yesterday by FBI agents in Texas on a federal charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction in connection with his alleged purchase of chemicals and equipment necessary to make an improvised explosive device (IED) and his research of potential U.S. targets.
 
The arrest and the criminal complaint, which was unsealed in the Northern District of Texas, were announced by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; James T. Jacks, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas; and Robert E. Casey Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Dallas Field Division.
 
Aldawsari is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Lubbock at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning.  Aldawsari, who was lawfully admitted into the United States in 2008 on a student visa and is enrolled at South Plains College near Lubbock, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
 

TULSA - Two people were arrested Sunday morning in connection to a meth lab that was found at an apartment complex.

Around 12:30 a.m., police responded to a domestic dispute call near 33rd and Yale.

When they arrived, officers found a meth lab in the apartment's community laundry room.

Hazmat crews were on scene to clean up the lab

Tulsa fire received a call around 7 a.m. this morning about a grass fire located at 3319 W. 39th St.  When crews arrived, they found a brush fire caused by several active meth labs found in a wooded area.
 
TFD has called Hazmat out to the scene. 
 
Crews say there are several active labs, with meth making materials in several locations spread out around the area.
 
Investigators have no suspects as nobody was out there when they arrived.
 
The brush fire is under control.

MONTEVALLO, AL (WBRC) - A home in Montevallo caught fire Friday afternoon in what authorities called a chemical explosion.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Department said the incident happened at a home in the 1100 block of Highway 17 just south of Maylene.  The county's Drug Task Force, which was at the scene, described the fire as a chemical explosion.

NORFOLK, Neb. -- A chemical reaction caused a fire Wednesday that damaged a Norfolk home.
The fire broke out at 11:33 p.m. at a home at 308 Eighth Street. A passer-by noticed flames in a window and called 911.
The Norfolk Fire Division said in a statement released Thursday that upon arrival, firefighters encountered smoke and fire in the front room of the home.
Firefighters had the fire, which was contained to the immediate front room area, under control within minutes.
The home, which was being renovated by owners Ron Pettitt and Dale Primrose, was not occupied at the time of the fire.
Investigators determined that wood finishing stain and varnish in close proximity caused a chemical reaction, which sparked the blaze.

An explosion of fireworks inside a Glendale Heights home forced police to evacuate nearly a dozen homes in the neighborhood on Wednesday.
Natural gas is reportedly not to blame for touching off the morning explosion at the home in the 400 block of East Altgeld Avenue.
The 56-year-old homeowner was found right inside the door of the home and was rushed to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.  Inside, police said the home was full of fireworks, prompting hazardous materials crews and federal agents to be brought in.
"There's a sufficient amount of fireworks in the house that we felt it was appropriate to call the bomb squad and for them to clear and make sure everything is safe in the building," said Dep. Chief Tom Bialas.

Linn, 25, was apparently emulating the science show "Mythbusters" when he set off a powerful chemical reaction Sunday evening that sent flames scorching into the air, authorities said.

The Discovery Channel show itself was emulating an experiment readily found on the Internet involving a powerful chemical reaction.

Rocklin police said Linn, who is being held without bail, is an unskilled amateur chemist, but not a terrorist.

"It's our opinion, at this time, it's really a kid screwing around to a higher magnitude than we are used to," said Lt. Terry Roide. "There is nothing that suggests that he has any other agenda other than fooling around with chemicals and watching too much 'Mythbusters.' "

A Murray County man who authorities say was severely burned in a methamphetamine lab explosion earlier this month was in stable condition at the Joseph Stills Burn Center in Augusta. Authorities said he will eventually face charges for possession and production of meth.

John Michael Watters, 36, of 3177 Greeson Bend Road near Spring Place, and Summer Nicole Long, 25, of 1486 Cobb Road near Eton, were taken to Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga “by persons unknown” on Friday night, Feb. 4, according to a Murray County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

“Chattanooga Police were contacted because Watters was being disruptive (at the hospital) ... (and) was suffering from severe burns to his face and upper body,” Officer Kelly Morrison wrote in the report, adding that Chattanooga authorities contacted Capt. Mike Henderson of the sheriff’s office about a “possible meth lab explosion” at the Greeson Bend Road address.

ROCKLIN — A Rocklin man is in custody for setting off a large explosion in his backyard.

Police got calls Sunday evening about an explosion and resulting fire along Birdie Court, just north of Sunset Boulevard.

Responding officers found chemicals and powders inside the home and a hazmat team was called in to help go through the debris.

Two Elgin firefighters and a police officer were taken to area hospitals Monday night after each became ill at the scene of a hazardous materials call at an apartment building.

Emergency crews were called to investigate the hazmat call at a six-flat apartment building on the 1100 block of Birch Drive at about 5:20 p.m., officials said.

The caller reported a strange smell that caused watery eyes and left a “metallic taste,” according to Elgin spokeswoman Susan Olafson. Arriving crews quickly ruled out natural gas as the cause, but remained on the scene to find the cause.

Eventually, the odor dissipated on its own and no injuries were initially reported, until two firefighters and a police officer became ill and were taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Olafson said.

One firefighter and the police officer complained of chest pains, while the second firefighter developed high blood pressure symptoms. Twelve residents also were taken to area hospitals with nausea and throat irritation.

AURORA, Colo. --  Officials say one man was treated at the hostpital after inhaling drain cleaner fumes in his Aurora apartment.

At about 7:55 p.m. a man called 911 and said he had suddenly become sick at his apartment in Del Mar Circle.

When HazMat crews arrived they found a pot on the stove with chemicals in it giving off fumes.

The man told officials that he thought boiling the drain cleaner would make it more effective. He said the gas fumes made him dizzy.

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Some Tulsa residents were left to put out a meth lab fire after their roommates ran from the scene, police say.

Tulsa firefighters responded to a house fire and found a meth lab overnight Saturday in the 4100 block of South Zunis. When firefighters arrived at the home at about 2 a.m., they were told the fire was already out.

The firefighters went into the back bedroom where the fire started to make sure everything was all right. They saw what appeared to be the components of a meth lab and called the Hazardous Materials squad to the scene.

Hazmat investigators confirmed that there was a meth lab in the bedroom and called Tulsa police to the scene.

A pet Chihuahua in Britain is said to have caused a freak house fire when it decided to chew on a mobile phone belong to its owner.

Lily the Chihuahua apparently chewed through a Samsung handset and dislodged the battery while gnawing on it. The dog's saliva is believed to have caused a chemical reaction with the lithium in the phone's battery, and the heat from the reaction then ignited the carpet.

The incident had taken place as nine-year-old Aysha, who owns the phone, was sleeping.

When the smoke alarm went off, her mum Lynn Sayed, 45, who was watching TV downstairs with her friend Stephanie Demarco, rushed upstairs and grabbed her daughter before fleeing from the house.

A search of the house in South Shields, Tyneside, revealed the badly dented battery had scorched into the carpet.

Hazmat crews in Virginia are trying to figure out what’s causing a suspicious odor near a group of homes in Stafford.
The odor was reported yesterday near seven homes on Short Branch Lane near Woodstream Boulevard. Five families that live in that section of homes were evacuated and spent last night in a hotel.
Hazmat crews, along with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, are at scene trying to determine the source of the smell. Crews have found high levels of methane in the soil near the homes, but that doesn’t necessarily explain the strong smell.
Electricity has been shut off to the homes in the area as a precaution and the Red Cross is assisting those residents who were evacuated.

A resident’s chemical solution to the winter storm’s effect on a driveway led to a need for cleanup by Denton Fire Department personnel.

Police responded to a call in the 1300 block of Marble Cove Lane to assist the fire department with a report of illegal dumping. Responding officers met with fire personnel, who reported receiving a call about antifreeze being poured into a city storm drain.

Upon arrival, they found a large amount of antifreeze in the gutter leaking into the storm drain in front of the original caller’s house, the report said. The caller’s children noticed the leaking when they returned home from church.

The fire department had already begun cleanup when officers arrived. Officers theorized the owner of the home tried to use the antifreeze to melt the ice and snow on the driveway, the report states.

There was no response when officers knocked on the door of the residence where the substance was originating from.

It was estimated that 4 gallons of antifreeze had been used. When officers arrived, the fire department had already used 100 pounds of absorbent material in the cleanup effort.

Dangerous vapors in houses near two former Modesto dry cleaners triggered notices from state overseers to local public health officials.

Some occupants say technicians indicated that levels of PCE detected in their homes were no big deal. These people appeared surprised that the state's formal letter to Stanislaus County leaders suggests otherwise, and said they received no formal notice.

"There is reason to believe that the illegal discharges are likely to cause substantial injury to the public health," reads the letter from Michael Vivas, project manager with the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control to county officials, dated Dec. 22.

Although 14 current or former Modesto dry cleaners have polluted groundwater, high concentrations in soil samples at two prompted state officials to request "emergency" action by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Airborne perchloroethylene, or PCE, showed up in levels exceeding the state's limit in all 13 houses tested in May.

SAN DIEGO — A maintenance worker in a Hillcrest movie theater complex suffered a minor chemical burn and two people were nearly overcome by fumes from a can rigged to spew pepper spray Thursday, fire officials said.

The 8-ounce can’s trigger was “deliberately configured” to keep spraying the irritating chemical, said Maurice Luque, San Diego Fire Rescue Department spokesman.

“It’s basically an assault situation,” Luque said. “Potentially, it could be a felony. Pepper spray can cause burns and respiratory problems.”

A family was overcome by chemical fumes and had to be rescued by firefighters after two cleaning products were mixed together at an Oxfordshire home.

Crews were called to a house in Clare, near Watlington, on Tuesday afternoon.

The house was cordoned off and two adults and a child were taken to hospital.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said two cleaning products, including a drain unblocker, had been mixed together creating chlorine gas.

'Very toxic'
Crews wore specialist equipment and breathing apparatus to clear up the chemicals.

Incident Commander and station manager Gary D'Anger said: "The occupants had been using a chemical drain blocker and mixed this with a cleaning product to cleanse a waste pipe.

"These two chemicals produced a very toxic chlorine gas which caused the occupiers breathing difficulties.

"Very toxic chemicals and gases can be produced by mixing different cleaning products together which can cause very serious and sometime permanent injuries.

"Always follow the instructions on the bottle and never mix cleaning products".

AMESBURY - Rescue officials closed down South Martin Road Friday night for more than an hour as they cleaned up a small propane leak at the Eastern Propane distribution facility off South Hunt Road.

Fire Chief Jonathan Brickett said only a small amount of the highly flammable liquid escaped from the end of a distribution pipe but it was enough to attract the attention of neighbors, one of whom called authorities.

Propane, like natural gas, is odorless. As a safety measure, an additive is introduced to give it the familiar smell of rotten eggs so it can be detected if spilled or leaking.

The distribution facility, located hundreds of feet away from South Hunt Road, is where Eastern Propane truck drivers come to fill their tanks before delivering propane to customers.

Portland, Conn (WTNH) - Portland fire officials are on the scene of a 2-Alarm fire that started with reports of a gas leak, and led to an explosion.

On Saturday afternoon around around 2:45pm, Portland fire, police, and Hazmat teams were dispatched to a duplex on Summer Road after receiving reports of a gas leak. Police say the leak was caused by a backhoe that had struck a propane tank.

As firefighters were on the scene, an explosion occurred. A witness said that part of the house blew up in a huge explosion.

THE suspected suicide of a St Albans man sparked a major chemical alert this evening, when potentially lethal substances were found in his home.

Police were called at about 2pm after reports were received about the welfare of a man in his 20s.

At about 4pm officers forced their way into his Hatfield Road home and found him dead.

It was then that the suspicious substances were discovered and the fire and ambulance services were called.

Dozens of police officers, firefighters and ambulance personnel surrounded the scene this evening as specialist crews wearing protective bio-hazard suits searched the building.

Onlookers watched on in bewilderment as a large inflatable decontamination archway was erected in the middle of the road.

COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Federal agents seized a small amount of a suspected hazardous material from a South Main Street home late Tuesday afternoon.
FBI spokesman Scott Wilson said the substance, which could be lethal, was flown to a federal laboratory in Maryland for analysis. He declined to comment on published reports that the substance is believed to be ricin, a deadly powder that can be produced from castor beans.
Wilson said the material was taken from a home on South Main Street near Firestone Metro Park that recently had been foreclosed. The new owner called police with concerns that a hazardous material was in the house. Agents called in specially trained FBI hazardous materials teams from Pittsburgh and Quantico, Va., Wilson said.
South Main Street was closed near Vaughn Road as the Summit County Sheriff's Office and local firefighters waited for the team's arrival. Homes and businesses in the neighborhood were not evacuated.
The agents, wearing hazmat suits, arrived at 3 p.m. and searched the home.

TARNTUM, Pa. -- Hazmat crews were called to Tarentum after 44 people were evacuated from their homes on the 300 block of West Sixth Street.
Homeowners waited for hours after neighbors reported they smelled gas in the area, but were allowed back in their homes around 9:45 p.m. when crews deemed the situation safe.
Firefighters used gas detection meters to track down where they thought the leak started.
"It's in the sewer system. Once it's in the sewage system it will get in everyone's house, and if your traps aren't filled with water, that odor is going to come up through your traps and fill your house up," said Mike Remper, assistant fire chief.
Allegheny County Hazmat crews were called to the scene to shut off valves to stop any potential leak.

COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A suspicious and potentially deadly substance, removed from a house on the 2600 block of South Main Street in Coventry Township Tuesday, is headed to a special laboratory for testing.

"We want to make sure we play this safe and package the substance correctly, and take it back to Maryland and have it analyzed properly in a laboratory," said FBI Special Agent Scott Wilson.

Authorities were first alerted on Monday.

Ownership of the property had recently changed, and the new owner discovered a canister with the material inside. Local authorities were notified, and the substance was recognized as potentially lethal. Local authorities were notified. They recognized the substance as a potentially lethal material and immediately contacted the FBI.

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) -- Police are investigating a small explosion at the Waterloo Public Library.

Sgt. Rob Camarata says police responded to a report of an explosion just before 5 p.m. Saturday, and found what appeared to be an improvised explosive device. The police department's bomb squad found it was small chemical explosive device. No one was hurt.

The Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier reports that the library was closing when the explosive, described as a pop bottle, went off and created a bad smell.

The library's executive director, Sheryl McGovern, tells KWWL that a few patrons and several employees were in the building at the time.

Maple Shade firefighters responded to an explosion Tuesday night that blew out the windows of a unit at the Southern Arms apartment complex, sending one man to the hospital for treatment of burns.

According to MSFD Chief Andrew Simonsick, the blast and subsequent fire was brought on by a reaction between some household chemicals which were being stored under the kitchen sink.

“We’re still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Some of the things just don’t add up. We’re looking into everything.”

Simonsick said the fire was definitely accidental and there was no malicious intent.

The kitchen and the living room of the unit sustained damage and some windows of the unit were blown out by the explosion. Residents of the building were evacuated at approximately 8 p.m. and were able to return less than two hours later, he said.

Hazmat workers were called out to dispose of chemicals left at the scene of a garage fire in Orange Park Acres on Monday evening, authorities said.
Firefighters responded to a blaze at a detached three-car garage near a home in the 10300 block of Randall Avenue just before 5 p.m., Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion said.

A firefighter peeks in to the fire damaged garage at a home on the 10300 block of E. Randall Avenue in Orange Park Acres. According the OCFA, the fire started in the garage Monday evening when a diesel fuel injection solvent that the residents were working with caught fire. All the residents in the home were able to evacuate safely and the fire department was able to put the fire out before it got to the house.

The fire was under control by 5:19 p.m., Concepcion said, but a Hazmat team was called out about 20 minutes later to deal with one to two gallons of heptane, which the garage's owner was using for a fuel distribution system for a diesel engine.

Tenants of a Yellowknife apartment complex were allowed to return to their units late Monday morning, after emergency crews spent several hours investigating a strong chemical smell in the building.

RCMP and the Yellowknife Fire Division evacuated 100 Beck Court around 5 a.m. MT, after they confirmed reports of a "strong odour" on the building's second floor.

The fire division's hazardous-materials team identified the smell in a part of the hallway on the second floor, but it could not pinpoint the source of the odour, Deputy Chief Jason Davidson said.

FLINT, Mich. -- The Genesee County hazmat team responded to an emergency call Thursday morning that ended up involving a dropped thermometer.
Officials said the Flint homeowner dropped the mercury-filled thermometer inside her home in the 2300 block of Ohio Avenue just before 5 a.m.
She called 911, where operators alerted the fire department who then called in the hazmat team in.
Officials said most of the mercury evaporated, but plans are in place to have the health department brought in as a precautionary measure.

New Delhi, Jan 10 (IBNS) Four children sustained serious burn injuries when the fire they lighted to keep themselves warm caught a chemical drum causing an explosion in south-east Delhi early on Monday, police said.

They were taken to hospital with critically damaged limbs.

The accident took place outside a printing press where the children were burning waste materials to beat the freeazing cold.

Delhi has been experiencing a bitter cold as mercury dipped to nearly 4 degree Celsius.

The last of a group of 13 hunters exposed to a dangerous chemical that killed four of their hunting dogs was released Friday from KershawHealth.
Health officials suspect the chemical was the agricultural pesticide Temik, and an expert from Clemson Extension’s pesticide office were en route to Lee County early Friday to help with the case, said Lt. Robert McCullough of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
Three adult hunters and one 11-year-old boy were admitted to the health center on Thursday, said spokeswoman Judy Ferrell. The center was placed in lockdown mode, with state health officials and county emergency officials notified. The other hunters in the group also went through detoxification procedures.

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Fire Department, a hazmat crew and Animal Care Services are in the process of removing about 30 cats from a Northside home.
Teams from Animal Care Services arrived at the home, located in the 500 block of Olney, around mid-morning on Wednesday.
Before they could enter the home, hazmat crews went inside to check the ammonia levels. That ammonia was the result of cat urine inside.
Officials said the situation first came to light when EMS crews responded to a call for a stroke.
The homeowner was taken to the hospital and Animal Care Services was called to deal with the cats.

An attorney for the owners of the "bomb house" property near Escondido has demanded at least $500,000 for his clients' loss and distress, according to a claim filed with San Diego County.
In a dramatic operation that captured national attention, authorities burned the single-story residence to the ground on Dec. 9, 2010, to destroy what they said was its huge and highly unstable stockpile of explosives.
They said fire was the only safe way to neutralize the homemade bomb materials found throughout the cluttered house just west of Interstate 15 and north of El Norte Parkway. Authorities said the explosives included the same destructive compounds as those used in recent terrorist plots.

HASTINGS, Fla. -- Drums of chemicals were likely the cause of a foul odor in the Flagler Estates neighborhood, police said.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office responded this evening to a bad smell coming from the back yard of a home in the Flagler Estates neighborhood in Hastings, according to SJCSO Sgt. Chuck Mulligan.

The home had been foreclosed on and officials found drums of what they said are chemicals left behind by the former owners.

It does not seem to be a drug situation or a meth lab, Mulligan said.

WILMINGTON, NC (NEWS RELEASE) - WPD officers responded to a chemical bottle bomb explosion at 3950 Appleton Way at 12:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The victim reported that when he answered the doorbell, the bottle bomb detonated, causing damage to the residence. Responding officers also found a second bomb at the scene that had not exploded. Initially there were no suspects.

At 4:30 p.m. on the same day (Wednesday afternoon), a citizen called 911 to report that some teenagers at 3927 Appleton Way were blowing up bottles in their backyard. Responding officers determined that the suspects at 3927 Appleton Way had been involved in the earlier incident. When WPD detectives interviewed them, all four suspects were implicated in the manufacture and explosion of the device used at 3950 Appleton Way. All were charged with Malicious Use of an Explosive Device. Arrested:

Hazardous Materials Emergency Units  responded to the 21700 block of Saratoga Drive in the Patuxent Homes neighborhood shortly after 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 23 for report of a fuel leak.

Investigation revealed over 130 gallons of heating fuel had leaked out from a 300 gallon holding tank that was filled up at midnight on Dec. 23, and was leaking into the basement and coming out of the sump pump.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (WSVN) -- Crews responded to the scene of a HazMat situation at an apartment complex.

Coral Springs Fire Rescue and HazMat crews responded to an apartment building, located at 9630 NW 35th St., after an officer was exposed to an unknown chemical.

Officials said the officer walked into a meter room and found an unknown chemical in an open container. The officer had to be transported to Coral Springs Medical Center.

A bus was on the scene to house and treat residents until authorities cleared the incident. Two other people were treated and released.

A North Bellmore family on Elbert Avenue was just trying to stay warm in their own home when their heating tank broke Saturday afternoon, drenching their basement in about 100 gallons of oil, according to North Bellmore Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Collins.

"The tank was old," said Collins.

"We stopped the leak, and we are maintaining the situation," he added.

Nassau County Hazmat was also called to the scene a little before 3 p.m. They helped clean up the pool of home heating fuel, but a private contractor was called to finish the job, said Collins.

FAIRFIELD, Calif. -- A hazardous material scare Friday forced people from their homes in Fairfield, officials said.
Firefighters said bottled chemicals were found in a foreclosed home after a contractor came to change the locks Thursday. The house is vacant, firefighters said.
Solano County hazmat officials said they are testing the chemicals to find out if they pose a serious threat to surrounding homes. Five homes were evacuated as a precaution, officials said.
Police said they are still tracking down the homeowners.

A hazardous materials team was dispatched Friday morning to a home in the Broadlands neighborhood in Broomfield, after an occupant reported feeling ill after being exposed to an unknown substance.

Rescue personnel from North Metro Fire Rescue District at 10:28 a.m. responded to a call from 14352 Mission Way. A woman at the home reported she felt sick after coming in contact with an unidentified liquid found inside of and on the surface of a package delivered to her home earlier this week, said North Metro spokesperson Wendy Forbes.

A man and woman were in the home when fire personnel arrived and were quickly evacuated. The couple was transported to Exempla Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, where they were still receiving treatment shortly before 3 p.m., according to hospital officials.

The couple operate a used clothing business, Boutique 4 Less, out of the home and often have clothing delivered there, Forbes said. The woman became ill after reported opening a package containing a dress that was delivered earlier this week, Forbes said. The woman experienced unspecified symptoms that lead her to call emergency personnel.

The hazmat team recovered the dress and packaging in which it was delivered and is testing a liquid found on both items, Forbes said.

North Metro has already been in contact with FedEx about the package, Forbes said. "They (FedEx) indicated that particular package was one possibly exposed to transmission fluid," Forbes said. "But we will not be able to verify if that was the liquid until the testing is completed."

North Metro's hazmat team ventilated the home and tested for air contamination using gas monitors. The home has been cleared for the residents' return when they are released from the hospital, Forbes said. Two dogs, also initially evacuated from the home when rescuers arrived, have been returned to the back yard, where a neighbor is keeping an eye on them, Forbes said.

EWING -- The Trenton Fire Department's Hazmat team was called out to the township yesterday when people cleaning out a house stumbled upon old pesticides, Battalion Chief John Gribbin said.

Two men and a woman who had been hired to empty the home of a deceased woman on the 1000 block on Pennington Road were cleaning out the basement.

"They were carrying a box out that had a couple of containers of insecticides, glass containers," Gribbin said.

The bottles contained mathalion, which was commonly diluted with water and placed in a spray container to keep bugs off vegetables, he said. The box was leaking the liquid, and one of the workers placed the box on the floor. He put baking powder over it, then placed water on top of everything, causing the chemicals to spread, Gribbin said.

Firefighters dispatched around noon removed the containers, which contained 4 to 5 ounces each, Gribbin said. An EMS check of all the people who were in the basement revealed they were fine, he said.

Explosions could be heard for miles.

Residents were turned away from their homes.

Madera County Sheriff's Deputies say it's all because of what was found inside an Oakhurst home in the area of Highway 41 and Highway 49.

"The only thing that I can tell you that they have been able to confirm is yes, this is a hazmat situation, it is not a bomb scare," Erica Stuart, Madera County Sheriff's Department, said.

Deputies were first called to the home Wednesday, after receiving reports of pipe bomb inside.

The pipe bomb turned out to be something else.

But what they did find warranted a call to several different agencies.

"You've got fire, you've got the bomb squad, you have hazmat, environmental health, you have the sheriff's department," Stuart said.

Deputies are being tight lipped about what exactly was found inside the home.

TROY — Officials have determined there was no danger to a neighborhood after 13 Mason jars filled with mercury were discovered at a home in the 2200 block of East Square Lake, east of John R, in Troy.

A couple recently purchased the house and discovered a Mason jar of mercury inside the home filled with 10 pounds of mercury. They reportedly buried the jar in the backyard, but did not open the jar or break the glass, said Troy Police Lt. Bob Redmond.

The couple called police Nov. 29 when they discovered 12 more jars of mercury buried in the crawl space under the home when they tore up floorboards during a renovation project, Redmond said. Those jars were not opened, and the glass was intact, according to police.

Troy police and fire officers from the hazmat team responded and tested the air in the home and determined that it exceeded safe levels and was unsafe for human occupancy. Readings taken outside the home registered “zero” level of mercury, police said.

ESCONDIDO — Experts in everything from air pollution to fire barriers honed a complex plan Wednesday to burn the “bomb factory” home on the north edge of Escondido. While they don’t have a turnkey strategy to deal with a situation of this rarity, explosives experts said the developing blueprint seems solid.

“The plan is tight,” said Neal Langerman, a San Diego-based chemistry expert.

The three-bedroom home on Via Scott is so cluttered with dangerous chemicals — all of which terrorists have used to make explosives — that incinerating the home is the only way to safely remove everything, authorities said.

County leaders said they don’t know how much the operation will cost.

The prescribed fire is expected early next week, but county air officials said it won’t start until the winds are blowing about 3 mph toward lesser-populated areas to the east and there’s no inversion layer that could trap smoke. That’s usually the case in the late morning.

“It’s all science-based and theoretical right now, and I think the challenge is to make sure the proper public safety precautions are being taken,” said Don Plain, head of emergency response for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control. “It’s an unknown situation, to a certain extent. This is a variable that has people, I think, a little nervous, but I don’t really think (officials) have another option.”

The house was rented by George Djura Jakubec, 54, who is being held on $5 million bail on 28 counts, mostly for manufacturing or possessing explosives. He has pleaded not guilty.

BETHLEHEM -- A Bethlehem man whose brother was badly burned in a chemical-fueled fire last year was arraigned on felony and misdemeanor charges after police said they linked him to a stockpile of volatile -- and potentially deadly -- chemicals found Tuesday in his apartment building.

Bethlehem police said the collection of chemicals they found in Jason D. Sanchez's storage area in the basement of his Cherry Arms apartment building posed "a grave risk of death" to other residents in the Delaware Avenue complex.

"He had apparently been setting up some type of laboratory in there," Deputy Police Chief Timothy Beebe said. While investigators have not determined what Sanchez, 24, intended to build, Beebe said "the potential for danger was high" and that the setup did not appear to be a makeshift laboratory for manufacturing crystal meth.

Sanchez is a graduate student at Rensselaer Polytechic Institute and a teachers assistant at Albany's William S. Hackett Middle School.

Confiscated from the basement were acetone, Xylene, sulfuric acid, a propane torch, butane fuel and laboratory-grade nitric acid, Beebe said at a news conference Wednesday.