Multiple staff treated, 1 hospitalized after explosion at Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office evidence incinerator
The sheriff’s office said it happened around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning as employees were conducting routine evidence destruction using the incinerator. The evidence was being destroyed for the Galveston Police Department.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said one person was taken to a hospital for evaluation and multiple staff members were treated for smoke inhalation and hazardous material exposure after an explosion of the sheriff’s office crime lab evidence incinerator.
The sheriff’s office said it happened around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning as employees were conducting routine evidence destruction using the incinerator. The evidence was being destroyed for the Galveston Police Department.
"The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office routinely partners with outside law enforcement agencies to assist them with their evidence chain and conducts regular courtesy evidence destruction‚" the sheriff’s office said.
Shortly after the evidence was loaded into the incinerator, staff in the crime laboratory heard an explosion. They went to the incinerator where several secondary blasts occurred.
Staff members extinguished a brief fire and the Conroe Fire Department responded to the scene. The fire department’s hazmat team also responded and decontaminated staff and the surrounding area.
Multiple sheriff’s office staff members were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and hazardous material exposure. One was taken to a hospital for evaluation as a precaution.
"The crime laboratory and the surrounding buildings are intact, with no significant structural damage to either the building itself or the surrounding structures‚" the sheriff’s office said. "The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office Hazardous Device Unit is currently conducting a post-blast investigation in conjunction with the Conroe Fire Department Fire Marshal’s Office, the ATF and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. The Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office is the lead investigating agency on this explosion, and all investigative questions should be directed to their office."
