Lt. Kent Worley, fire department spokesman, said police noticed what appeared to be mercury on the ground after firefighters put out a trash fire outside the house, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said.

Worley said residents told police they found a can containing a small amount of mercury when they moved into the house. They told police the can had been placed in the trash fire.

A decontamination facility, including a scrubbing station inside a tent, was set up at the site.

"It takes quite a crew to do that because they have to do it by the book," Worley told the newspaper.

He said no one was hurt or sickened in the incident.