Firefighters in hazmat suits , police , US Secret Service officials and an Army explosives team converged on a quiet residential street in Washington DC after a homeowner found a suspicious syrupy substance inside a 40-year-old safe . First responders were called to the home at 3736 Kanawah Street Northwest at around 4pm Monday . According to investigators , the house had recently been sold , and the new owner was in the process of going through its contents when he came across an old safe in the basement . Scroll down for video . Suspicious substance : A Washington DC opened a 40-year-old safe , only to discover vials of syrupy white substance that required the presence of Army explosives experts , firefighters and paramedics . Suite up : A hazmat team marched inside the home on Kawanah Street and carried away several containers filled with the mystery goo , which had a chemical reaction with water . The unnamed resident said inside the strongbox he found vessels containing a white , gooey matter . Firefighters who responded to the address entered the home in protective gear and removed several vials of powder and liquids , which were taken to a an environmental testing facility . DC Fire Spokesman Timothy Wilson said they were baffled when on-scene tests could not positively identify the mystery liquid found in the safe , which firefighters initially took to be a spilled household cleaner . But surprise quickly turned into alarm when the syrupy sludge reacted with water . ‘ We wanted to be as thorough and careful as possible when we moved it , ’ Wilson told Washington Post . Crisis averted : Kanawah Street in the Chevy Chase section of the capital was temporarily shut down , but no injuries were reported . Kanawah Street in the Chevy Chase section of the capital was temporarily shut down , but NBC Washington reported that no injuries were reported and no homes were evacuated . Emergency vehicles and EMS workers remained on the scene well into the early hours of Tuesday morning .
investigators in Washington DC discovered the suspicious substance inside old safe left in front of his new home . On - ray testing failed to identify the liquid , but it had a chemical reaction with water . samples of the white gooey matter were sent to environmental lab for further testing .