7 Homes Evacuated After Volatile Chemical Is Found
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County firefighters evacuated seven homes in an El Monte neighborhood Friday after children there discovered a volatile chemical from a drug laboratory and took it to a home in the 2600 block of Gage Avenue, where it began to smoke.
Firefighters immediately saturated the material, which appeared to be red phosphorous, before a hazardous materials team arrived to clean it up, county Fire Inspector Ed Loney said. No one was hurt, he said.
Red phosphorous is used to make methamphetamine, and is extremely flammable.
Detectives are seeking the source of the chemical, police said.
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