Haz-mat cleanup follows suicide bid

 

MUNCIE -- A haz-mat cleanup was under way Monday after a young Delaware County man reportedly tried to take his own life with a potentially deadly gas.
Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley said the man apparently posted his intention to harm himself on Facebook last night. Authorities were alerted about 5 a.m., and deputies entered his mobile home -- at Country View Mobile Home Park, in the 5900 block of West Delaware County Road 350-N -- and pulled him to safety.
The man was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital by Delaware County EMS.
More than four hours later, the Delaware County Hazardous Materials Team, headed by Jason Rogers, was continuing its efforts to clean up the site and remove any potentially dangerous haz-mat materials,
Rogers said the man created hydrogen sulfide gas, trying to commit what is commonly known as "detergent suicide."
The local haz-mat team has not previously encountered such a case, but had a related training exercise as recently as last summer, Rogers said.
The Gaston Fire Department was also called to the scene. Also on hand were representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Department of Homeland Security and the state fire marshal's office.
Air testing indicated the hazardous fumes are limited to the man's mobile home, Rogers said, but neighbors have been told to "shelter in place" until the cleanup is completed.
This story will be updated.