Officials address investigation into ‘suspicious’ flyers

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A health scare on Coursey Boulevard led to six businesses being evacuated and three Investar Bank employees being treated for an illness.

Tests done by hazmat crews from Baton Rouge Fire Department, East Baton Rouge Sheriff, State Police, and FBI all came back negative for threats.

RELATED STORY: FBI finds no threat after ‘suspicious’ flyers forced evacuations in BR

“Our initial screening came back non-hazardous. There was nothing hazardous on these flyers and on the FBI lab we were contacted and told by the Sheriff’s Department that the FBI lab also came back that there was no hazardous presence on these fliers,” said Justin Hill, a BRFD public information officer.

Hill said they performed initial field tests before the results were sent off to be reviewed at a lab.

“All the detection equipment we use out in the field is all presumptive. It’s not confirmed. It’s going to give you a good probability of yes, this is this or yes, this is that, but it’s not going to be confirmed until it’s sent off to a lab,” Hill said.

These small tools are able to determine what substances are in the air.

“And you know, there are certain sensors installed in these instruments that tell you things like explosive atmospheres, volatile organic compounds, specific chemicals like H2S or carbon monoxide,” Hill said.

Hill added if you are suspicious about an illness, you should still call 911.

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