It was a tense situation at New Carlisle Elementary Friday afternoon when a 2-liter pop bottle containing a clear liquid was found at the school.

Brian Dixon, the building’s principal found the bottle at about 3:30 p.m. when returning to the building from bus duty. He immediately called the Sheriff’s office and the Fire Department.

The New Carlisle Fire Department was first on the scene and tried to assess the situation – from a distance. Using binoculars, fire fighters believed that they saw aluminum foil in the bottle.

After strong winds knocked the bottle on it’s side, fire officials believed that they saw the bottle expanding.

There have been recent incidents of “bottle bombs” in other areas. “Bottle bombs” are created when a bottle is filled with vinegar, Dran-o and aluminum foil. They have been known to cause serious injury after they are picked up.

Not wanting to take any chances, the building was evacuated and the Dayton Police Bomb Squad and the State Fire Marshall’s office were summoned.

Members of the Bomb Squad sent a robot vehicle to pick up the bottle, take it to a field away from the school building, puncture it and drain the liquid from it. The liquid was then collected and sent to the State Fire Marshall’s office for analysis.

School officials and Sheriff’s Deputies viewed surveillance video but the cameras did not record anyone placing the bottle on school property.

“There were six or eight latchkey kids and a few staff members in the building at the time,” said Tecumseh Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim Gay, “but they were evacuated early on.” School had already been dismissed and most students had already left the premises when the bottle was discovered.

“I’m just glad it’s over, and that it ended without incident,” said Gay.

The Criminal Investigations unit of the Clark County Sheriff’s office and the State Fire Marshall’s office will be investigating the incident.

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