Soap leads to Rockland home evacuation

ROCKLAND, Mass. -- A Rockland woman's attempt to hide her spending led to a Hazmat evacuation of her daughter’s home.

When Tricia Nichols opened a package addressed to her, she immediately became very suspicious of its contents.

“We both smelled it, we didn’t know what it was...Then I put it back in the package, took off the return address and threw it trash...Then the next day, I went to see my father, who said it was probably a suspicious package and I should probably call the cops,” said Nichols.

Nichols took her father’s advice and called the police.

“They come, they call for backup. Then the fire department comes, then Hazmat, then I have to evacuate, go to my neighbors...crime scene tape is around my house,” said Nichols.

Soon after, she came to the realization that the package was actually soap that her mother had ordered.

“I called my mom and I said, ‘Did I give you the right package?’ Because I had originally given her a package that I was expecting...and I asked ‘is there anything else coming?’ She said, ‘yes, I ordered some soap,’” said Nichols.

It turned out her mother had ordered the soap for herself and sent it to Tricia because her husband doesn't like her spending money.

Once everything was cleared up, Nichols worried that she had wasted the authorities’ time, but that wasn't the case.

“They were happy that it had a happy ending, you know, it wasn’t anything dangerous,”

The family was able to laugh at this situation now, but Tricia said she hopes her mom learns a lesson.

(Copyright (c) 2009 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)