COLUMBUS, Ohio — Forty homes were evacuated Thursday night after a man called 911 and claimed he had suffered burns while working on a “quantum physics generator” at his home.

Residents were allowed to return to their homes after about three hours when authorities determined the device in a home’s garage was no threat, WCPO Channel 4 reports. The man who called was taken to a hospital for evaluation and likely will face a charge of inducing panic, WCPO reports.

The call came just after 6 p.m. from a home located on a cul-de-sac in northwest Columbus, WBNS Channel 10 reports. HAZMAT, a bomb squad and an arson team all responded because the man caused confusion on his claims about how he was burned while working on the “quantum physics generator."

“There was a lot of terminology and words that we don’t know if they were very scientific high-level words or gibberish,” Columbus Fire Chief Steve Martin tells WBNS. “Not really knowing what exactly we were dealing with, life safety is always paramount. We wanted to take it as slow and safe as we could - that was the importance of it. We are very happy that it turned out to be nothing, but we were also prepared for it to be something.”

No burns were found on the man, ABC 6 reports. An examination of the device in the garage determined there was no radiation or other hazardous materials, and that it was “a collection of things,” Martin tells WCPO.

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