UPDATE: No Explosives, Just a Box of Flares

A reported of suspected explosives at a vacant home in Pimmit Hills, a community next door to McLean, brought Washington's major TV stations and its stars.

The incident was reported about 2:30 p.m. after  a realtor visited a vacant house in the 1800 block of Peabody Drive in Pimmit Hills, a Falls Church neighborhood. Pimmit Hills is one of the oldest subdivisions in Fairfax County.

The realtor found the box in the house. Carried it outside. Then called the fire department to report a box of possible explosives, according to a spokesman for the Fairfax County police department.

Both the police and fire departments responded. Streets surrounding the home at the corner of Griffith Road and Peabody Drive were closed. Nearby houses were evacuated.

The police department's Ordnance and Explosive Disposal unit moved in. The police department also dispatched  an officer from its Public Information Office to the scene to keep reporters informed.

Neighbors gathered on corners to talk about the excitment and watch.

At about 5:15 it was over. The materials in the box turned out to be traffic flares.

The streets reopened. The watching neighbors left. The TV trucks with their reporters remained for their standups on the evening news. The sun started to set on the quiet Pimmit Hillls community.

Pimmit Hills, located on the northern fringe of Falls Church,  started in the late 1940's and early 1950's as the first address of  veterans who had fought and won World War II. The neat houses are small Cape Cods on yards that wrap around the house. They symbolized the American Dream then and now.

Today many of the homes are the address of immigrant families. They are heirs to the dreams of the veterans, a home of their own and a place to raise their children in peace and security.

UPDATE: Fairfax County police reported minutes ago that a suspicious box found in a vacant Pimmit Hills home contained flares.

Earlier Story: Fairfax County police have closed a street in Pimmit Hills next door to McLean to investigate a report of hazardous materials, perhaps including dynamite in a house.

The Fairfax County Fire department said they received a report about 2:30 that a realtor touring a house on Peabody Drive had a found a box that could contain hazardous materials and perhaps some explosives.

The nearby houses were evacuated, the fire department said.