HALIFAX – Police say residents evacuated from their Dyke Road homes in Grand Desert should be able to return home by Saturday evening. Homes surrounding a rural cottage east of Halifax have been off-limits for days, after RCMP began investigating dangerous chemicals stored inside.
Investigators have been carefully removing chemicals found in a variety of containers stacked floor to ceiling inside a cottage and shed, some of which are “unstable,” the RCMP said Friday.
“We’ll have all of them removed from the scene today and allow evacuees to get back to into their house,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Scott Warnica, Saturday on scene on Dyke Road.
Many of the officers on scene were surprised by the volume and variety of chemicals they found.
“Talking to all other agencies that are here,” Warnica said, “nobody has attended a scene as complex as this with this many chemicals and this many unknown agents.”
Residents who spoke to Global News today said they were looking forward to returning home. Others who live nearby say the closure of Dyke Road has caused problems navigating the area.
“Not knowing whether you can get out or not, and the other worry is: what if there’s a fire? That sort of thing,” said one resident.
Police said they would be clearing the scene by Saturday evening, though the exact time is not known.
Officers said evacuees would be notified directly when they are allowed to return home.
With files from Mayya Assouad.
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