A two-block area around the Harvard School of Dental Medicine was closed yesterday and the building was evacuated after the discovery of a man’s body in a lab prompted a hazmat response, officials say.
“We sent all our hazmat companies, made it a level three, which is the highest, just to be cautious,” said John Walsh, chief of operations for the Boston Fire Department. “We’ve evacuated the area, isolated the area.”
Boston police Superintendent William Ridge said officers were called to a lab at the dental school on Longwood Avenue yesterday morning, and found a body.
“Officers saw what appeared to be a deceased person, with some type of bag ... that had some type of chemical in it,” Ridge said. “At that point they immediately backed out.”
More than a dozen fire trucks — including the hazmat unit — were on scene along with dozens of first responders. Firefighters originally arrived with a level three hazmat response, including full body suits, but quickly found the chemicals had not impacted air quality. The chemicals had no effect outside the lab, BFD said. Authorities evacuated the building just after 10 a.m., and cleared the scene yesterday afternoon.
Walsh said it was unclear what chemicals were in the bag and if they came from the dental school.
Although the body was found yesterday, Walsh said it may have been in the lab since Thursday.
A spokeswoman for Harvard Medical School declined to comment.
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