Update

And our saga has ended. The powder was determined not to be dangerous and it was turned over to the SPD arson squad. Like we said earlier, these events rarely turn out to be anything significant. (But it was fun to cover, wasn't it?)

Update

Our suspicious-package-powder warriors have reemerged from the bank. Shane says the HazMat team is going through the regular decontamination process (basically a nice rinse of water) so they don't accidentally bring anything dangerous with them.

Photo by Shane Harms

Update

More from Shane Harms: SFD Public Affairs Officer Kyle Moore said they are doing the spectrographic tests right now to determine whether the powder is dangerous. He said the process could take up to an hour.

"They are never quick. It's a process of elimination, testing for threats first," Moore said.

If it is hazardous, they'll be passing the scene onto SPD, and, depending on the severity of the threat, the FBI or ATF could be called. (Now wouldn't that be exciting?)

As of the moment, Wells Fargo employees are kind of isolated. Shane Harms spotted one employee inside the Sip and Ship across the street. Since they are not displaying any symptoms, they are allowed to use the bathroom and aren't "quarantined."

The workers will continue to be isolated until SFD knows the red powder is now a harmful compound.

Below is a photo Shane took of fire fighters watching a screen showing the team inside the bank test the powder.

Update

Always fun to see the news helicopters glob onto every HazMat scare. How can they see from up there, anyway?

Photo from Twitter user @SarahSchact

Update

BNT Reporter Shane Harms is on the scene. He said that a Wells Fargo employee received a letter. When she opened it, she saw a red powder inside and immediately dropped it.

Readers might recall that a similar incident happened not too long ago, on Oct. 28, at the Ballard Bank of America. In that incident, an employee received a letter with a suspicious powder, but SFD determined that it was nothing.

Rain City Video on Market St had its own powder scare last March. That powder was "kind of beige." But again, it turned out to be nothing.

Generally, SFD doesn't find out what these strange powders are, as they only test them for hazardous or dangerous substances.

Photo by Shane Harms

Original

A HazMat team arrived at the Ballard Wells Fargo bank in response to a suspicious package with an unknown powder in it. The Seattle Fire Department evacuated eight people from the bank. No one is displaying any symptoms.

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