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<\/p>\nSeveral explosions could be heard and smoke was seen rising from behind a gravel berm in Calgary\u2019s Manchester Industrial Park Wednesday afternoon after the police bomb squad was called out to deal with a suspicious package.<\/p>\n
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In a briefing at the City of Calgary\u2019s Emergency Operations Centre, Deputy Police Chief Cliff O\u2019Brien warned there would be more explosions as emergency crews conducted a series of controlled explosions to destroy the material, which he identified as picric acid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis particular acid is commonly used in labs and there\u2019s lots of legit reasons for it,\u201d said O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s packaged properly, it is safe to transport and there are no issues whatsoever, but if it is mislabeled and if it\u2019s not stored properly, it becomes very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
On its website, Transport Canada <\/a>says due to its intense bright yellow colour, picric acid is commonly used in chemistry labs to make dyes and explosives \u2014 but also describes it as highly shock, heat, and friction sensitive explosive, making it one of the most dangerous chemicals being used today in chemistry labs.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n Investigators were initially called around noon on Tuesday after the package was discovered outside a business in the 4700 block of First Street southwest.<\/p>\n Police said the package was likely delivered to the wrong address and was too unstable to move safely.<\/p>\n The situation was determined to be so volatile that businesses and homes were evacuated in an area spanning several city blocks, with the Red Cross called in to help those who were forced from their homes.<\/p>\n The airspace within two nautical miles of the area was also closed<\/a>,\u00a0Calgary Transit shut down bus routes in the area and CTrain riders were warned to expect delays.<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tA post on social media by Calgary police shows the area that has been evacuated after the discovery of the suspicious package.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tx.com\/CalgaryPolice\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Police have also started a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\tGet daily National news<\/p>\n Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I can tell you thus far is a local moving company was hired with the intention of disposing of several substances,\u201d said O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time it is believed the substances were mislabeled prior to the transport to the moving company \u2013 as a result of this mislabeling the substances sat for approximately 10 days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday (Tuesday) the moving company opened the pallet at which time it was determined that the acid was one of the substances and given the volatility of that substance our tactical team was engaged as was the Calgary fire department hazmat team,\u201d said O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n According to Transport Canada, <\/a>picric acid, usually exists as a wet paste and becomes extremely dangerous when dries out.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tCaili Morgan, works at a nearby business that was evacuated around 1 p,m. on Tuesday.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Caili Morgan, who works at one of the businesses that was evacuated, described the situation as \u201cscary.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve blocked off quite a lot of area so it is a bit nerve-racking to think that \u2026 something could have happened yesterday and we really just did not know,\u201d said Morgan.<\/p>\n \n\t\tTrending Now\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t2 children dead, 17 people injured in Minnesota church, school shooting\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\u2018Put American spirits back\u2019 on Canadian shelves, U.S. booze group urges\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n However, police insist there was no danger to the public unless the picric acid was moved without the proper safety precautions being taken.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tSmoke can be seen rising from behind a berm and a dump truck after what appeared to be a controlled explosion of a suspicious package by the Calgary police bomb squad.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Shortly after noon on Wednesday, a member of the Calgary police bomb squad could be seen moving the packages to an area behind a large gravel berm that emergency crews had constructed along a nearby street.<\/p>\n In a post on social media, <\/a>police asked people to stay away from the area and warned that a series of controlled explosions accompanied by loud bangs and bursts of smoke and fire, could be\u00a0 expected throughout the day.<\/p>\n At around 2 p.m., the first loud bang was heard in the area and smoke could be seen rising from behind the large gravel berm and police warned that people in the area would hear more explosions until all the chemical had been destroyed.<\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cThey are making small amounts safe at a time \u2014 they\u2019re not taking the whole amount that would be far too dangerous,\u201d said O\u2019Brien.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat (people) may see is a bang and a little bit of a flash from the detonation \u2014 any of the smoke they see is from that flash \u2014 there nothing toxic in that smoke that\u2019s going up.\u201d<\/p>\n Police couldn\u2019t say how long the operation would last, but O\u2019Brien said efforts to destroy all the chemical will continue until 10 p.m. Wednesday and if there is still more to be destroyed, it will resume on Thursday morning.<\/p>\n According to Transport Canada<\/a>, there have been several catastrophic events involving picric acid, including the Halifax explosion<\/a> in 1917.<\/p>\n An ammunition ship carrying tonnes of picric acid and thousands of kilograms of TNT collided with another ship, caught fire and exploded.<\/p>\n![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/national.jpg\")
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