Concord Police evacuated dozens of people out of their homes Saturday evening after finding out that their neighbor was trying to make a “flash bomb” inside his house.
Evacuations are underway at Robin Lane near Monument Boulevard, just blocks away from the Concord Costco.
Police said the man’s wife called them at around 6 p.m. to report that her husband was drunk and mixing chemicals.
Contra Costa County HazMat and Walnut Creek bomb squad were called in to help the police.
Officials reported heavy chemical smell in the air when they arrived on scene.
More than 50 people living nearby were evacuated from their homes, including the man, his wife and their two children.
"We evacuated the whole block," Officer Christopher Blakely said. "This area of Robin Lane, we have a lot of apartment complexes, a lot of families, a lot of children and we wanted to make sure we took the right steps to get all these people out of the area just in case something should happen."
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The man, whose identity has not been released, is under arrest for child endangerment and other charges.
Police said residents should be able to return to their homes once fumes dissipate.
