Part of Castletown was evacuated today after a report of problems involving a hazardous material.

At just before 11am the emergency services joint control room received a 999 call from a member of the public for assistance.

The caller had been using a cleaning agent in the back of a van in the car park behind the fuel station on Victoria Road.

Some people living nearby were evacuated as a precaution while others were told to stay inside and shut their windows.

The caller had been cleaning a large number of aluminium pizza trays, which started to give off fumes and react with the chemical agent.

As a precaution, which the fire service says is normal in this type of situation, a 50-metre cordon was put in place while the emergency services responded.

Firefighters at the scene quickly determined that the products involved had the potential to be ’very reactive’ given the right conditions.

A fire service ’hazmat’ (the term used by the emergency services for hazardous materials) officer identified the products involved and provide a safe response to deal with the incident.

Two firefighters in hazmat chemical suits were deployed to separate and contain the materials involved, which were then removed by the fire service for safe disposal.

The area and crews were then decontaminated before the cordons were removed and the road re-opened.

The incident took about an hour and a half to deal with, during which time Douglas crews were also called to a report of a smell of burning in an office block in Douglas.

The building was checked using thermal image cameras but nothing was identified. Crews left the scene after electricians attended to check the electrics throughout the building as a precautionary measure.