NM Neighborhood Cleared amid Hazmat Scare

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Residents who evacuated a North Valley neighborhood Tuesday evening after reports of a hazardous materials spill were allowed back into their homes when the Bernalillo County Fire Department found there was actually no spill.

BCFD spokesman Marcelino Martinez said there was “no hazard at all,” after at least four state and city agencies shut down Niagara, between Elm and Locust, for more than four hours.

“There was no spill after the team went in to check,” Martinez told the Journal late Tuesday night. “Everything was safe for people to come back home.”

Martinez said deputies responded to reports of a cloud of chemicals forming inside a home around 4:30 p.m., prompting voluntary evacuations to the Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center near Fourth and Alameda.

Fire trucks and other emergency response vehicles lined streets in the area around 6 p.m. as crews could be seen pulling hoses from a fire truck at the corner of Niagara and Elm.

Despite the large response from several agencies, Martinez said the supposed spill was thought to be small.

“We just have backup on backup,” he told reporters at the scene Tuesday.

The neighborhood was shut down until just before 9:30 p.m., when people who had evacuated were allowed back into their homes.

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