Fairfield Reopens Road As Cleanup Continues Of Chemicals, Guns

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – More than 250 legally owned handguns and hunting rifles were found at a Bronson Road home while police, fire, state and federal agencies were clearing the residence of explosive devices and chemicals on Tuesday and Wednesday, Fairfield police said.

Fairfield County Hazardous Incident Response Unit Decontamination Line at 1625 Bronson Road Entry on Tuesday night, Oct. 2.
Photo Credit: *Erik Kalapir*

by Alissa Smith

10/03/2013 12:30 p.m.

Bronson Road, which had been blocked from Warner Hill Road to Cedar Road since 5 p.m. Tuesday, was completely opened to traffic mid-morning Thursday as the work to clear the house was winding down, police said.

Police found no indication of any malicious intent in the building of the explosive devices at the home, police say. But the 65-year-old homeowner has a background in chemistry and had previously worked at Remington Arms, where police believe he got the guns and much of the chemicals.

“However, it is still illegal,” Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara said. There was the potential for an explosive situation at the home, he said.

Police have applied for an arrest warrant, and the homeowner will likely be charged with manufacturing explosive devices and possession of explosive devices, MacNamara said.

Chemicals that are safe by themselves were placed together in areas with other chemicals, which when put together could cause an explosion, MacNamara said. Most of the chemicals were legal, he said, but some small amounts of illegal chemicals were found in the house, he said.

According to MacNamara, some of the guns located in the house were loaded and some were not. An exact number of guns was not known yet as police were not finished categorizing the weapons, he said.

The State Police Bomb Squad detonated an unknown number of explosive devices that were taken from the home at a secure location on Sherwood Island in Westport on Wednesday morning. MacNamara said the items included sticks of dynamite and devices that were clearly manufactured by the homeowner.

“When we responded, we had a very unknown situation and a very unstable situation,” MacNamara said. What is left is to determine how the clean up will proceed and how the chemicals will be remediated.

The homeowner was still at the hospital Thursday, where officers took him Tuesday night after he called police saying that there had been a break-in. During the investigation, police found guns and chemicals in the open and reported that the homeowner appeared to be confused. There was no information regarding his current status.

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