White powder found in envelope; hazmat responds to Peoples building on Pittsburgh’s North Shore
PITTSBURGH —
Hazmat crews responded to Pittsburgh’s North Shore, where first responders say an envelope with white powder was found on the sixth floor of the Peoples Gas building Wednesday afternoon.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 video showed a large presence of emergency vehicles on North Shore Drive.
“The crews entered the building and performed an assessment of the scene and an evaluation of the material. What triggered, or presents, is a small quantity of narcotics, and the folks that were there that had opened the envelope were treated and evaluated by Pittsburgh EMS,” Assistant Fire Chief Brian Kokkila said.
People in the building sheltered in place, and both persons who were in contact with the envelope when it was opened were medically cleared, Kokkila said.
“We don’t have the exact address on there. It appears to be an envelope that was addressed to Peoples Gas,” he said.
A Peoples spokesman said the building has now been cleared for normal operations by Pittsburgh Public Safety.
Pittsburgh police are investigating the incident.