Haz-Mat Crews Called To Texas Fire Station

EL PASO, Texas --

El Paso firefighters had to respond to a hazardous materials call at one of their own fire stations after someone brought by a potentially explosive chemical.

It happened at Fire Station Number 20 in the 8300 block of Edgemere at around 9:30 Wednesday morning.

Firefighters at the station said someone had brought in a one-quart container that was labeled picric acid.

That prompted a full haz-mat response.

"Picric acid is used in the copper industry for etching copper. It's also used in the window industry for coloring glass. Of course, the danger is... it's an acid... it burns the skin, it also causes respiratory problems. But the biggest concern for us is that once it crystalizes and gets hard, it turns into an explosive problem for us," said Lt. Mario Hernandez with the El Paso Fire Department.

Firefighters called in a private company to properly dispose of the acid.

No injuries were reported.

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