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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Benjamin Lynch

Mystery spillage in street sparks emergency operation as fire crew race to scene

Police and fire services were today called to an incident in Birmingham after the "spillage of an unknown substance."

In a statement, West Midlands Police confirmed the "substance identified was not harmful to the public" after around 30 firefighters from six engines were called to attend.

The force said: "We've now concluded our investigations at the scene of this incident.

"Our specialised identification teams, working closely with our on-scene crews, were able to confirm that the substance identified was not harmful to the public."

Workers and residents were asked to avoid the area as specialist scientists worked with detection, identification and monitoring (DIM) equipment to identify the substance.

DIM equipment is used when there "is a need to quickly ascertain the possibility of a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incident," according to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).

West Midlands Fire Service is now poised to leave the scene on Bull Street, outside the Lord Chancellor's office. Authorities were called to the scene earlier this afternoon and the building was evacuated.

The service said: "Our crews are currently making up equipment and resources at the scene and are expected to leave shortly.

"Road closures will likely be lifted in the near future. Tram operations will also be safe to resume, subject to confirmation by West Midlands Metro.

"We'd like to thank our communities for their patience while we worked to keep them and the area safe."

After the incident was reported, a cordon was put in place on the street that was later extended, leading to disruptions to tram services.

West Midlands Police said earlier: "We are currently at the Lord Chancellor's office, Bull Street, Birmingham. We were called to Bull Street at around 4.35pm after the building was evacuated.

"There is a cordon in place while West Midlands Fire Service colleagues investigate the spillage of an unknown substance at the city's civil justice centre

The fire service confirmed that Bull Street has been cordoned off, but this was lifted around two-hours after the incident was first reported.

In a statement, the fire service said: "At 16:07 on 28 March, crews were mobilised to an incident on Bull Street in Birmingham."

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