Hazmat response tied to teen’s garage lab in Irvine, California

Federal agents and hazardous materials crews are examining possible hazardous materials at a home in Irvine, California, after a chemical odor was reported in the same neighborhood where a teenager’s garage lab led to a similar response earlier this year, according to officials and local media.

The Orange County Fire Authority and the Irvine Police Department were called at about 9:56 a.m. Tuesday to a home on Crater Street after someone reported a chemical odor coming from the residence. The FBI responded and joined the investigation, according to Irvine police.

Police said in an update Wednesday that the investigation remains underway, with the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) examining and evaluating materials at the home. The work could take multiple days to complete.

No evacuations have been ordered, and police said there is no known danger to the community.

KABC reported that the response happened in the same neighborhood where FBI and hazmat crews were called in February after a maintenance worker found lab equipment in a family’s garage.

That investigation involved Amalvin Fritz, then 17, who was studying biological sciences and had been conducting experiments at home.

Fritz later told KABC that the chemicals came from common household products that could be bought online or at a hardware store. He said the setup was a small chemistry lab, not anything more complex than a “sixth-grade science lab.”

An attorney for the family told KABC that the latest response appears to involve the same chemicals and equipment from the earlier investigation. The attorney said the materials had been placed into barrels by the FBI, and that Fritz had recently opened the barrels at the family’s new home.

The attorney said a neighbor may have seen or smelled the materials and called 911, describing the latest incident as another misunderstanding that has again displaced the family from their home.

After the incident earlier this year, the attorney told KTTV that Fritz was an exceptionally gifted UC Irvine student who had been conducting molecular compound research as part of an effort to find a cure for cancer.