Milwaukee City Hall suspicious mail; contents not hazardous
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Fire Department has determined there was nothing hazardous or dangerous in a liquid found in mail delivered to the Milwaukee Election Commission on Friday, Nov. 8
A commission employee opened the international mail in a normal bubble-wrapped envelope around 9 a.m. Friday in the commission's office on the fifth floor of City Hall.
"It was in a plastic bubble wrap, so it was sealed. And when you open it, it was just very wet and it just seemed weird. It smelled a little funny," said Paulina Gutierrez, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission. "It was just the moisture. There was no message. There was nothing in there, nothing untoward. It was just the moisture inside the envelope. That seemed very odd."
Staff then called 911.
Hazardous materials response at Milwaukee City Hall
The Milwaukee Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team and other firefighters were dispatched to City Hall.
Hazardous materials response at Milwaukee City Hall
The south side of the 5th floor, where the commission's office is, was evacuated – but the rest of City Hall remained open while fire investigators tested the substance.
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Milwaukee firefighters, donning head-to-toe hazmat suits with air tanks, conducted a variety of tests – to determine if there are any dangers, including radiological and biological threats, fentanyl, or poisons.
"We have a pretty intense testing process. We can find nothing that is dangerous or hazardous at this time, and that's excellent news," said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski.
The Milwaukee Fire Department tests did not determine what the liquid is. The department will send the mail to the state lab for further testing, which can pinpoint what the substance is.
"First responders came, everybody did their job. And I feel really good about going back up there and getting the job done because we've got a lot of work to do before certification," Gutierrez said.
Hazardous materials response at Milwaukee City Hall
The fire chief said the one worker who was exposed to the package was evaluated. That person indicated feeling no impact – and declined transport to a hospital for further testing.
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The mail scare and election commission evacuation led the city to delay the certification of the election. The commissioners planned to do that Friday, but it is now postponed until Monday.
This latest scare comes one week after the Milwaukee Fire Department responded to another suspicious letter at an United States Postal Service location. Last Friday, the department tested a powder in an envelope and determined it, too, was not dangerous. A city spokesman at that time said that case appeared to be similar to cases in other states intended for election officials.