Hazmat Probe At Teen's Home Science Lab

Orange County authorities and the FBI returned to an Irvine neighborhood on July 7 after a neighbor reported a chemical odor coming from a home tied to a teenager whose earlier science experiments had already drawn a federal hazmat response. Irvine police said the call involved a residence on Crater in the Altair community, not the Cartwheel rental home that had been searched in February. Officials said there was no known threat to the community and no evacuations were ordered. By Wednesday, police said the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency were still evaluating materials at the property and that the process could take days. ### Why did authorities go back to the neighborhood? A 9:56 a.m. call on July 7 brought the Orange County Fire Authority hazmat team to the Crater home after a neighbor reported a suspicious odor, KTLA reported, citing authorities. The Orange County Sheriff's Department bomb squad and Irvine police also responded, and the FBI took over the investigation. Irvine police told NBC Los Angeles that officers began a joint operation with the FBI after receiving the report of a chemical odor from the residence. (ktla.com) The station reported that the family had recently moved into the home after renting another house nearby in the same gated community. ### Who is the teenager at the center of the case? NBC Los Angeles identified the teenager as Amalvin Fritz, now 18. (ktla.com) The station said Fritz had told NBC in March that the earlier federal investigation grew out of his science work at home. March coverage by ABC7 and CBS Los Angeles described the first incident as a prolonged investigation at a home on Cartwheel in the Altair community after authorities found mixed chemicals in what police described as a homemade science lab. (nbclosangeles.com) ABC7 reported that Irvine police said a juvenile living at the home had mixed unknown chemicals, while CBS Los Angeles cited family attorney Charles Ray as saying the work was part of a college student's science project. ### What did officials say about the risk to neighbors? Irvine police said on July 7 that there was no known threat to the community, according to NBC Los Angeles. KTLA likewise reported that officials said there was no danger to surrounding residents and that no evacuations had been ordered. February reporting from ABC7 said police had also emphasized during the earlier investigation that there was no known threat to the public even as FBI evidence response teams worked in hazmat gear at the house. (abc7.com) That earlier response stretched over several days while chemicals were evaluated by specialists. ### Why did the family say this happened again? (nbclosangeles.com) Charles Young, identified by NBC Los Angeles as the family attorney, said the family had moved to the Crater home and was unloading the contents of three storage bins that had previously been investigated by the FBI and returned. Young said he believed odors from those boxes may have prompted neighbors to call authorities. (abc7.com) Charles Ray, another attorney quoted by KTLA in the July 7 coverage and by CBS Los Angeles in March, said the materials now at the new house had already been reviewed in the first investigation. Ray told KTLA that the apparatus and chemicals had been loaded into drums after the earlier search and said, "There’s no issue here." ### What did investigators find at the property? (nbclosangeles.com) Sky5 video cited by KTLA showed 55-gallon drums, a whiteboard and what appeared to be lab equipment in the backyard of the Crater home. KTLA reported that authorities were seen searching the property Tuesday afternoon before later clearing the home. ABC7's February report said the first investigation involved a homemade science lab, mixed chemicals and evidence response teams working under tents outside the garage. (ktla.com) CBS Los Angeles reported at the time that investigators were examining suspicious materials and that no arrests had been made. ### What happens next in the investigation? (ktla.com) On July 8, Irvine police said on social media, as quoted by NBC Los Angeles, that the investigation remained ongoing and that the FBI and Environmental Protection Agency were evaluating the materials at the Crater location. NBC reported that the review could take days to finish. The next public updates are likely to come from Irvine police or federal agencies involved in the case. (abc7.com) As of the July 8 update cited by NBC Los Angeles, the family had again left the home while cooperating with investigators. (nbclosangeles.com)