Upon discovering the body of a 54-year-old woman in a San Mateo apartment Tuesday, authorities uncovered evidence of potentially hazardous materials, issued a shelter-in-place advisory and evacuated nearby apartments.
Members of the San Mateo police and fire departments responded at about 3:15 p.m. to an apartment in the 2000 block of Parrott Drive on a welfare check, according to city officials.
The woman's body was found inside the apartment and responders also noted evidence of an unidentified substance that potentially posed a hazardous exposure, city officials said.
The scene was secured, adjacent apartments were evacuated and a hazardous materials response was initiated. Several agencies, including the San Mateo County Hazardous Materials Response Team, were involved in the response.
Nearby residents were asked to hunker down while the scene was contained, officials said, and as of 10 p.m., there was no danger of exposure to hazardous materials.
Although foul play is not suspected in the woman's death, the chain of events leading to the exposure and the fatality remains under investigation.
The San Mateo County Fire Department, the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department, the county Office of Emergency Services and the San Mateo County coroner's office also participated in the response.