Residents allowed to return home after Montgomery County hazmat

Montgomery County officials are allowing residents back into their homes following a hazmat incident in Lower Providence.

It was 8:45 a.m. Thursday when authorities were called to the area of Woodlyn and Clearfield Avenues for a report of an odor of chlorine.

The first responders traced the odor to MAWA Incorporated, a gas cylinder service company. Authorities say it was there that a tank was being cleaned, causing the chlorine to become airborne.

They immediately evacuated 50 homes in the neighborhood as a safety precaution.

Lower Providence Fire Chief Jim Alexander tells us, "The hazmat team entered the building and found a product leaking in there and they were able to cap it off and contain it."

Hazmat teams then processed the scene and vented the building.

The fire chief says they got numerous calls from the neighbors. But no one in the building itself called.

Emergency responders found the employees standing around outside when they arrived.

Four people in the neighborhood were taken to the hospital complaining of dizziness and headaches.

The company where the leak happened services a number of different gas cylinders, including propane, and is located right in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

The fire chief says it may be dangerous, but the business was likely here before the houses.

The business originally began as the ER Joseph Company back in 1946.