Police said no evacuations were ordered after a chemical odor call at a home in the Altair community.
IRVINE, CA — Federal agents and hazmat crews returned Tuesday to an Irvine gated community after police received a chemical odor complaint at a home tied to 18-year-old science student Amalvin Fritz, whose garage lab drew an FBI response in February.
The new response put Fritz and his family back under public scrutiny just weeks after he graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in biological sciences. Irvine police said the call came from a residence on Crater in the Altair community, where officials began a joint operation with the FBI. Police said there was no known threat to the community, and no neighborhood evacuations were ordered.
Police said the call came Tuesday morning after someone reported a chemical odor coming from the home. News helicopter video showed a hazmat response in the gated neighborhood off Irvine Boulevard later that afternoon. Family attorney Charles Young said the incident involved the same chemicals and equipment from the earlier case. Young said the Fritz family had moved to a new home and had begun unloading three storage bins that had been investigated by the FBI and returned to them. The smell from the containers may have led neighbors to call 911, he said. “The family is beyond frustrated that this is happening again, and that people are scared of what they don’t understand,” Young said.
The Irvine Police Department said Wednesday that the investigation remained active and that the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency were evaluating materials at the location. Officials said that process could take days. Young said the family was displaced again while cooperating with investigators. Authorities did not announce arrests or charges in the latest response, and they did not identify any material as an active danger to the neighborhood. The FBI did not release a detailed public account of what agents removed, tested or reviewed at the home. Police said no evacuations were ordered, a key difference from the visible law enforcement presence that alarmed some residents.
The new probe follows a February incident at the same Irvine community, where a maintenance worker noticed Fritz’s garage science setup while responding to a leak at the family’s home. The worker contacted the landlord, and authorities were called. The FBI, hazmat crews and a California National Guard weapons of mass destruction support team responded to the property. Fritz, then 17, later said the work was part of his interest in chemistry and medical research. He said he was using water, rubbing alcohol and chemicals commonly found in items such as Epsom salts and nail polish remover. In March, Fritz described the setup as limited. “It was a small chemistry setup. I wouldn’t describe it as anything more complex than a sixth-grade science lab,” he said.
Fritz’s case drew attention because of his age, education and stated research goals. He entered a gifted student program at California State University, Los Angeles, at 13, later transferred to UC Irvine and graduated in June with a biological sciences degree. Fritz has said his interest in cancer research grew after his aunt’s illness. He has described work involving cubanes, three-dimensional carbon molecules studied for possible use in drug design. In interviews after the February response, Fritz said the investigation was a misunderstanding and said he respected investigators for checking the situation. He also said his days of doing research in a garage had ended and that he planned to move his work into a more professional setting.
The family’s attorneys have rejected suggestions that Fritz posed a threat. In the earlier case, an attorney for the family said there was no credible evidence to support claims that Fritz was dangerous. Young gave a similar account after Tuesday’s response, saying the latest call appeared to stem from the return and opening of materials already reviewed by federal agents. Authorities have not said whether Tuesday’s call will lead to a separate enforcement action, whether any agency found a violation or when the family will be allowed full access to the home. The EPA’s role suggests officials were focused on identifying, handling and clearing chemicals safely before closing the scene.
Neighbors in Altair saw another large public safety response months after the first one brought agents in protective suits to the community. The earlier operation forced Fritz and his family to stay away from their home for days, and they later moved to another residence in the same area. Tuesday’s response again left the family away from home, according to Young. The family has said Fritz’s interest is medicine, not harm, and that his experiments were tied to a goal of becoming a doctor. Fritz has shared some science work publicly online, adding to the unusual profile of a case that has moved from a home garage to federal review twice in less than five months.
The investigation remained open Wednesday, with the FBI and EPA still evaluating materials from the Crater residence. Officials did not release a completion date, but police said the review could take days.
Author note: Last updated July 9, 2026.