Rumford officials watch Friday as Public Works employees clean up debris after state police destroyed a suspicious case found inside the new fire station on Falmouth Street. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

RUMFORD — State police blew up a suspicious metal case found Friday morning inside the new Rumford Fire Station on Falmouth Street.

Fire Chief Chris Reed said he discovered the old case inside the door of the first bay and called contractors to see if it belonged to them. When they said it didn’t, he called state police.

Debris from a suspicious metal case found inside the new Rumford Fire Station on Falmouth Street is seen in the parking lot Friday afternoon after being blown up by state police using a robot. Fire Chief Chris Reed said X-rays showed there were wires, tools, a stapler and components that could possibly be an explosive device.  Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

He said X-rays showed there were wires, tools, a stapler and components that could possibly be an explosive device.

A state police robot dragged it to the parking lot where it was blown with three town trucks filled with sand around it to buffer the debris.

Public Works employees swept it up.

The station is not finished but is expected to be operational in about a month, Town Manager George O’Keefe said. He said it’s 90% to 95% complete.