Police Reports: A White Powdery Mess

It was Monday evening, right on the heels of a weekend of ceremonies and dedications to the innocent victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Customers at the Shell Station at 133 Main St. were pumping gas and shopping in the convenience store when white powder came down from the canopy like a heavy snow, completely covering one woman and her black, Lincoln Navigator.

"I'm sure people watched a blurb on the History Channel," Fire Marshal Bill Davin said of the weekend. "What must have been going through these people's minds when they were under a canopy and all this white powder came down? It had to be very scary."

The white powder was from the fire suppression system.

Police Lt. Brian McCauley said the gas station attendant noticed a problem with one pump at around 5:42 p.m. and tried to turn it off. But he flipped the wrong switch, releasing the sodium bicarbonate mixture.

Emergency Medical Service personnel treated the woman and two young men at the scene and all were brought to the hospital for further evaluation, according to Davin. While the men were soon released, the woman stayed until after 9 p.m., he said.

Another customer had pulled into the parking lot when the powder came down on her car.

"The EMS crews are to be commended for the great job they did," Davin said.

Davin called the fire suppression substance "a glorified baking soda product" and said it's harmless, but can be an irritant if breathed in.

"Drinking copious amounts of fluid, such as water, will flush it out of your system," Davin said.

The fire marshal said there is no evidence it does damage to autombile paint, but added some of the car owners will want to change their air filters.

The Connecticut DEP was on the scene to oversee the clean up and representatives of the Trumbull Monroe Health District checked food near the doorway inside the Chestnut Mart to determine whether it was still safe to eat after powder had gotten into the store, according to McCauley.

Davin said the business had closed until 8:30 the next morning.

As bad as the accident was, Davin said it could have been even worse. The fire marshal's inspection found the fire suppression system did not operate as it should have.

"We found some broken tubing lines," Davin said of a Tuesday morning inspection of the canopy. "All of the canisters didn't go off. It would have been worse. A lot more powder."

If not for Monday's mishap, Davin said the damaged lines would not have been discovered.

"Something good did come out of this incident," Davin said. "It's in the process of being repaired right now."

The fire marshal and the DEP are still investigating to determine how the lines became damaged.

An attempted break in

A Walnut Street resident called police to report a break in Monday night.

Police said he arrived home at 10:40 and heard noise in his yard about a half hour later. Thinking it was a deer, he went outside to check, only to see a man in a sweatshirt.

The stranger appeared to be trying to break into the house and when he saw the homeowner, he ran off, police said.

McCauley said a canine was brought to the scene, but the suspect had gotten away.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call police at 203-261-3622.

Stolen delivery

A River Drive resident expecting a delivery from FedEx Wednesday called the carrier when the package was not on his front porch, and got confirmation the delivery was made, according to a police report.

The man called police at 7:18 p.m. to report the theft of his mail.