OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon An aluminum powder was burning in this dumpster Thursday morning. An alert was sent out to neighbors due to the potential of poison in the air before the chemical was identified.

SILVER CREEK — A dumpster that caught fire Thursday morning created a lot of stir.

According to officials, around 9:45 a.m. the Silver Creek and Sunset Bay fire departments responded to 16 Mechanic St., Silver Creek for a chemical fire in a dumpster. The dumpster is owned by Harson Foundry, the business next door to Newbrook Machine Corp. Newbrook was not involved in the incident.

Chautauqua County Haz-Mat was called to the scene. An aluminum powder had caught fire in the dumpster. Haz-Mat used a special agent to put the fire out.

Because it was a chemical fire, an emergency notification system call was sent out to neighbors, advising them to remain indoors until the fire was completely out.

There were no injuries reported. Haz-Mat considered the incident “minor” in nature, however all volunteers who responded had to be checked out because of the chemical involved.