BURLINGTON, Vt. -
The Coast Guard has found out the contents of the suspicious package dropped off near their station earlier today. It was an 8mm film, produced by the Coast Guard during the sixties, on boat safety.
Petty Officer Kravchuk said that the Vermont State Police bomb squad was the unit to eventually open the package but that the fire department, police, parks and recreation and even the FBI became involved in the situation.
He said that proper procedures were followed for the suspicious package at a federal building such as the Coast Guard station.
The box the film was in was labeled to an old military structure that is no longer in use, Kravchuk said.
The Coast Guard station was shut off from pedestrians after the man dropped it off and Burlington police say it's because of a suspicious package. The identity of the man is still unknown.
The security measures have now come down.
Some of Burlington's bicyclists were down by the building earlier as police realized they needed to lock down the area.
Mike Peirce and his son Joss were trying to take a bike ride and parked near the Coast Guard station when police told them they needed to stay away from the building.
"We were trying to go behind and skirt by the Coast Guard station to get on the bike path when they had it blocked off," Peirce said.
"The officer said there was a potential problem with a package."
Police and Coast Guard personnel started setting up stations along the Waterfront around 2 p.m. to start blocking pedestrians from coming near the building. Soon after came barricades and police tape.
Many pedestrians were wondering what was going on as they approached the scene and were told by police that there was an emergency situation and that they couldn't enter the area.
"He wasn't letting anybody through so we went around and we got on the bike path and went down to oak ledge," Peirce said.
"Now we're back and hoping that we can get our car."
Cars were stopped at the intersection of College St. and Lake St. while another barricade was set up further down on Lake St. as well as on the Waterfront. Police started letting some people through to get home or to their cars, but passersby were told to turn around and to steer clear of the coast guard station.
