Both the NYPD and the FDNY are investigating the discovery of a small plastic bag containing a white powder — believed to be narcotics — which was found in the restroom at a Lower Manhattan firehouse, officials and police sources said Thursday.
The bag was found by a firefighter inside the bathroom at the Engine Company 4/Ladder Company 15 firehouse on South St. near Old Slip in the Financial District around 10:15 a.m., an FDNY spokeswoman confirmed.
The NYPD was called in Thursday afternoon to voucher the bag and conduct tests to see what the white powder is. The department has already ruled out Anthrax, an NYPD source said.
“I wouldn’t call it a drug raid. That’s a little dramatic,” one firefighter at the firehouse said about the NYPD’s arrival. “It’s not our job to secure or sequester evidence. That’s up to the NYPD.”
The substance inside the bag has not yet been identified.
“There’s definitely going to be an investigation,” another firefighter said.
Investigators with the NYPD and FDNY are questioning members of the firehouse to determine if the bag belongs to an FDNY employee or a recent visitor to the station who used the bathroom.
No FDNY members at the station have been criminally charged or placed on modified duty Thursday.