Hanover Neighborhood Evacuated After Hazmat Incident

HANOVER (CBS) – An intruder was arrested in an upscale Hanover neighborhood Tuesday afternoon after allegedly breaking into a home and spilling hazardous chemicals. The spill forced several families from their homes.

It all began when police responded for a reported break-in at a home on Bates Way.

The situation quickly escalated into a bizarre hazardous materials situation once officers got there.

"The officers described it as an unusual smell, one that they didn't really determine what it was, but it just did not seem usual. In fact they saw a pail that seemed to have some steam coming off of it," said Hanover Police Chief Chief Walter Sweeney.

That suspect was arrested but then had to be treated by ambulance crews and taken to the hospital. The fire chief immediately called in the hazmat team.

"There was a smoke or a haze inside the building and a strange odor," said Hanover Fire Chief Jeffrey Blanchard. "Our Firefighters arrived on scene, made entry into the building, a few feet into the building with their air packs on observed what the police chief told you was a pail with perhaps some chemical substances around the pail."

Later on, a vehicle was removed from the home's garage, put on a flatbed, and taken away.

The exact motive and circumstances of all of this is still being sorted out.

"The homeowner had actually recognized the individual that had broken into the home, and it was someone that was not authorized to be in the home," Sweeney said.

Crews were still on scene late Tuesday night cleaning up the chemicals.