NJ mayor: First responders instructed to wear 'hazmat suits' if drone falls from sky
A New Jersey mayor directed local officials to wear hazmat suits and call the bomb squad on Friday if one of the mysterious drones circling the area falls out of the sky.
“First of all, if there is a downed drone in our vicinity, we are immediately to call the bomb squad of our county,” Mayor Michael Melham of Belleville said during an appearance on Fox News’s “The Faulkner Focus.”
“And second, our fire department has been instructed to make sure they wear hazmat suits,” he added.
Melham said the city would treat a drone drop like an attack on homeland security.
“Because they are not sure if there’s a payload or not. And, that’s what we were told during our briefing on Wednesday,” he told host Harris Faulkner.
While citizens have raised concerns about the cause and intent of circulating drones, Melham has instructed residents not to shoot at or tamper with the device.
"We’re being advised to tell residents not to shoot them down," he said.
However, lawmakers including New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim (D), are frustrated with the lack of information surrounding the situation. He’s urged the federal government to launch a more formal investigation into the incident, seeking to find answers as soon as possible.