Revere High School evacuated for ‘potentially dangerous’ chemical combination

RICHFIELD , Ohio (WJW) — The creation of a “potentially dangerous” chemical combination led to the evacuation of Revere High School on Tuesday, authorities said.

Bath Township police officers and firefighters responded to the Everett Road high school just after 10:30 a.m. on a report of a student who had inadvertently mixed four chemicals to create the “potentially dangerous” compound, Police Chief Vito Sinopoli told FOX 8 News.

Students and faculty were made to leave the school “out of an abundance of caution,” Sinopoli said.

The Summit County sheriff’s bomb squad arrived two hours later and identified a glass beaker containing a half-ounce of what was believed to be silver nitride, which could become silver fulminate, an explosive that can be used in fireworks, according to the National Library of Medicine .

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms told local officials how to properly dispose of the material, according to Sinopoli. A bomb squad deputy carried the beaker to a safe location in a grassy area east of the high school, where a small explosive charge was used to detonate it.

Watch video of that detonation in the player above.

A Revere Local School District spokesperson released a statement on Tuesday afternoon:

Revere High School was evacuated following an incident in a science lab where multiple chemicals were mixed incorrectly, causing the potential for an explosion. The building was evacuated and safety forces were on site. The fire department, out of extreme caution, called the bomb squad to remove the potentially hazardous material. The building was closed for the remainder of the school day. The hazard was eliminated and all activities for this afternoon resumed as scheduled.

The district applauds the protocols that were enacted by the teaching staff, administration and safety forces.

Statement from Revere Local School District spokesperson

Students are expected to return to the school on Wednesday, May 22, Sinopoli said.

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