AMHERST — Urine was the source of a strong smell that prompted a state Hazardous Materials Response team and bomb squad to evacuate tenants from Brandywine Apartments in North Amherst on Wednesday, according to an Amherst fire official.
The tenant responsible for creating the odor by “cooking” his urine was identified by police as Nikolai James, 23. He is not facing criminal charges, police said.
James was transported Wednesday night by an Amherst Fire Department ambulance to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton for an evaluation.
But James escaped from the hospital Wednesday evening and remains missing as of Thursday afternoon. Northampton Police confirmed that they searched for James following his escape, but were unable to find him and ended their search.
Police responded to Building 6 of the apartment complex off Meadow Street about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after the manager discovered several unmarked glass containers containing liquids in an apartment. The manager entered the apartment after a neighboring tenant complained of a strong smell, said Amherst Assistant Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren said.
Stromgren said in an email that the smell came from the urine and possibly additional chemicals.
“He was definitely ‘cooking’ his urine and there were definitely other chemicals on scene,” Stromgren said.
But the other chemicals have not been identified, and it remains uncertain what he intended to mix and what he was trying to produce, Stromgren said.
A private cleanup company working for the state Department of Environmental Protection now has those chemicals, Stromgren said.
Stromgren added that such incidents are hard to prevent, though James is not supposed to be allowed back at the apartment complex.
“The key is if anyone sees/hears or in this case smells anything unusual or suspicious that they notify the police who can investigate further,” Stromgren said.
After authorities determined Wednesday night that the substances did not pose an immediate health hazard or explosion risk, tenants in the 11 other apartments in Building 6 who had been evacuated were allowed back into their units.
James has had previous encounters with Amherst Police.
In November 2014, police responded to his previous home at 110 Sand Hill Road in North Amherst after his mother called to report he had placed his urine on a hot plate in a shed, at the time a violation of a court agreement.
Earlier that fall, James was arrested after allegedly injuring two police officers, including breaking one officer’s finger.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
