Hazardous liquids found in a Girard basement

GIRARD — The Trumbull County Haz-Mat team and investigators from the Girard fire and police departments worked throughout the day Thursday and Friday to remove hazardous chemicals and about 2,000 thousands of gallons of liquid contaminated with petroleum from a garage and hand-dug basement on Smith Court.

The chemicals found included bleach and ammonia, the Girard Fire Department said.

The garage and basement are at 2 Smith Court, near a house that was vacant when authorities arrived. The location is on a gravel road on the east side of U.S. Route 422, just south of David Tod Cemetery.

Trumbull County officials have called in the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies to assist with the investigation into who was storing the chemicals and petroleum and whether the materials have leached into the groundwater, said a representative of the Girard Fire Department.

Two men who had gone into the property to secure it for a finance company discovered the chemicals and petroleum and alerted the fire department Thursday afternoon.