Hazmat called to East Rochester for body in car
A body found in a vehicle off Fairport Road in East Rochester and the potential of chemicals at the scene prompted officials to call Monroe County's Hazmat team for assistance on Sunday night. It also prevented about a dozen residents from returning to their homes until the area was deemed safe.
The unidentified man was found dead in the parking lot of Family First Credit Union, 375 Fairport Road. By 11:30 p.m, the displace residents from the Wells Landing, a newer development off Water Works Drive, just east of Country Club Plaza on Route 31F, were given the green light to return to their homes
ER police and fire officials would not disclose the age of the deceased man, the cause of death or how long the car and body may have been there. They are ruling it “suspicious.” No information was also provided on whether the man had been in the credit union office prior to dying. The initial call for an unresponsive male in his car came in around 6:46 p.m., according to East Rochester police Sgt. John Vicaretti.
“While conducting their investigation the medical examiner’s office expressed some concern about the condition of the car,” ER Fire Chief Matt Parrone said. “At that point, we called out Monroe County hazmat for their advice and their assistance in mitigating this situation.”
Sam DeRosa, chief of the local hazardous materials team, said his crew arrived around 7:30 p.m. to assess the situation and determine the safest way to proceed.
“We took all the necessary safety precautions for the community. We monitored the air. We monitored the vehicle,” DeRosa said. “We did remove a person from that vehicle. I’m not a liberty at this point to talk about the chemical or potential mix for chemicals. We truly don’t have all of those answers at this point.”
DeRosa said there were “some tell-tale signs from the vehicle when (the medical examiner and police) got a look from a safe distance,” that concerned them regarding chemicals. But he wouldn’t elaborate.
One resident said he noticed police activity at the credit union around 4 p.m., which was more than two hours earlier than the initial call to police. Cory Mack, 19, said he went to play football at nearby East Rochester High School around 7 p.m. and the police activity was contained to the credit union parking lot.
By the time he returned around 9:30 p.m., the area was being roped off by police and residents were not being allowed back to their homes.
“Yeah, I’m frustrated. I’m tired,” Mack said.
Police roped off the road and entrances to a Jiffy Lube and Papa John’s Pizza, which are next to the credit union. Trucks from the East Rochester and Culver Ridge (Irondequoit) fire departments were using the Wegmans parking lot while the hazmat team did its work in the well-lit credit union lot.