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DIETRICH, Idaho (AP) — The Latest on an Idaho town where officials told residents not to drink the water after a fired municipal worker was found dead in his home. (all times local):
7:40 p.m.
State officials say a first round of tests on the water in an Idaho town have found no contamination after a fired city worker was found dead in his home.
Michael Brown of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality said Friday that the first set of city water tests in Dietrich found no contamination. He said previously that officials had already surveyed the system, saw nothing out of the ordinary and no evidence of tampering.
The Idaho Statesman reports results of the other tests are expected Saturday.
Residents of the town were told not to drink the water after emergency workers who found Tom Young's body were hospitalized after entering the residence.
Dietrich Mayor Don Heiken said there was concern that Young had contaminated the drinking water well serving the community of 300.
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9:02 a.m.
Residents of an Idaho town have been told not to drink the water after a fired municipal worker was found dead in his home by emergency workers who were hospitalized after entering the residence.
Dietrich Mayor Don Heiken says 62-year-old Tom Young was found dead Thursday. Heiken fired Young earlier this month.
Heiken says there's concern Young contaminated the drinking water well serving the community of 300.
Lincoln County Disaster Services Coordinator Payson Reese says eight people including emergency responders became ill after entering the home, were sent to hospitals and later released.
It is not known how Young died or what sickened the emergency responders but Reese says a nitrogen canister was found in the home.
Nitrogen is common in the atmosphere, but too much can reduce oxygen levels.
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