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IRVINE, Calif. () — A chemical incident in Irvine turned into a hazmat situation in a residential neighborhood on Tuesday. It’s a familiar scene for neighbors in the gated community.
AIR7 video shows the hazmat scene unfolding in the Altair gated community off Irvine Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon.
Irvine police said they received a call on Tuesday morning about a chemical odor coming from a home on Crater.
It’s the same neighborhood where FBI and hazmat crews responded back in February, where it turned out a teenager who was about to graduate from UC Irvine was conducting scientific experiments in his family’s garage.
Earlier this year, 17-year-old Amalvin Fritz was studying biological sciences and created a lab in the garage of his family’s home. He conducted experiments and studied reactions that are common in the medical field, particularly when developing cures for diseases. For the past year and a half, he has featured some of his work on his YouTube channel.
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A hazardous materials investigation at a home inside an Irvine gated community was triggered after a juvenile mixed unknown chemicals, authorities said.
In the incident earlier this year, the equipment in the garage alarmed a maintenance worker, who called authorities. FBI crews eventually moved in on the home in full hazmat gear.
The teen later spoke to Eyewitness News, explaining that the chemicals were from common household items that can be purchased on Amazon or at a hardware store.
READ MORE: Irvine teen breaks silence after at-home science lab sparks FBI hazmat investigation
A 17-year-old just months away from earning his degree from UC Irvine is speaking out after his at-home science lab led to a weeklong investigation. He believes it’s all a big misunderstanding.
He and his family were not allowed in their home for days as the investigation unfolded. They eventually moved out and bought a new home in the same neighborhood.
An attorney for the teen’s family told Eyewitness News that Tuesday’s incident is a similar situation involving the same chemicals.
“It was a small chemistry setup. I wouldn’t describe it as anything more complex than a sixth-grade science lab,” Fritz said back in March.
The attorney said all of the teen’s chemicals and equipment had been placed into barrels by the FBI. He just recently opened the barrels at the new home, and the attorney believes a neighbor must have seen or smelled them, prompting the latest 911 call.
The family’s attorney says it’s another big misunderstanding, leaving the family displaced from their home once again.
No evacuations were ordered in the neighborhood.
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