Discovery of container leads to Whitfield County hazmat response
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation Bomb Disposal Unit arriving on scene in Whitfield County Wednesday afternoon.
WHITFIELD COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF)- A surprising discovery led to a large police presence in Whitfield County Wednesday.
Whitfield County Sheriff’s Deputies were called out to a home on Walt Maddron Road in far northern Whitfield County at 9:20 AM Wednesday morning.
The Department’s Public Information Officer, Brandon Fincher, said that, “We received a call from a subject who said he was cleaning out a house of a family member. Inside one of the storage buildings he found a container that indicated that it could potentially be dangerous and hazardous.”
That call prompted an immediate evacuation of five residents.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Bomb Disposal Unit was called in to deal with the situation as they were able to destroy the container.
That evacuees have since been allowed to return home.
Fincher said, “At this time we don’t know exactly what the material is. We just know it is a hazardous material that could potentially be explosive indicated by what was on the packaging.”
He says that this type of call is something they don’t see on a frequent basis.
Fincher said, “If this ever happens, we stop what we’re doing, we call in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. They have a dedicated team that handles these kind of situations more appropriately than we’re capable of doing.”
According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Association, there are nine different classes of hazardous materials that first responders are trained on.
There are hundreds of hazardous materials according to that agency, that anyone could encounter at random.
The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office says if you find yourself in that situation, do what the resident who found himself in that situation did on Wednesday.
Fincher said, “Clearly in this instance if something says danger on it be careful. Anything that looks crystallized just be very cautious and if you have any questions, contact local law enforcement and have them take a look.”
