Hazmat Finds Dead Body, Strange Smell in East Bay Apartment

Residents of the Briarwood Apartment complex in Pleasant Hill were told to shelter in place Thursday after police found a man dead inside his  apartment and smelled a strong chemical odor in the area, police said.
     
Shortly before 11 a.m. police were called to the complex, located 141 Golf Club Rd., on a report of a deceased male in an apartment.
   
When officers arrived, they smelled a strong chemical odor in the  apartment and called the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District's  hazardous materials team for help.
     
Fire Marshal Richard Carpenter said this afternoon that hazardous  materials specialists have identified the chemical as hydrogen sulfide, which  is not believed to be harmful.
     
As of 1:30 p.m., crews had capped the containers holding the  chemical and were ventilating the apartment, Carpenterarpenter said.
     
The name of the man found dead in the apartment has not been released because his family has not been notified.