Bomb Scare Evacuates Taco Bell

The Taco Bell inside the Plaza at Buckland Hills was evacuated Monday afternoon after employees of the restaurant discovered a suspicious bottle containing liquid and a spark plug on the curb outside. 

According to Dan Langer, deputy chief of the Manchester Eighth Utilities District Fire Department, employees at the Taco Bell located at 1524 Pleasant Valley Rd., called the department around 12 p.m. to report the bottle, which appeared to be a bottle of ginger beer with a spark plug sticking out of it. 

"Someone found a suspicious object outside of Taco Bell," Langer said Monday afternoon. "A bottle with a spark plug in it with some liquid in it." 

The restaurant was evacuated and the area closed to traffic while the Manchester fire and police departments, the Hartford Bomb Squad and personnel from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were called in to investigate the object. 

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After testing the substance inside the bottle for several minutes, Langer said the bomb squad determined that it was not explosive. DEEP personnel would also test the substance inside the bottle to determine if it was hazardous, Langer said. 

There was no word as of 2:30 p.m. when the Taco Bell might be reopened. 

Check back with Patch later for an update to this story.