Emergency crews and a hazmat team were called to Saskatoon’s north end Friday after a chemical disposal company discovered a highly unstable container of ether outside a laboratory.

The company was called to the lab on the 800 block of 58th Street West to pick up two containers of the expired chemical, but one container was deformed, according to the fire department. Emergency crews responded just after noon.

“The chemical was deformed and dangerous,” the department said in a media release. “The chemical is extremely unstable in this state.”

Ether is highly flammable and a potentially explosive chemical.

The Saskatoon police explosives disposal team and members of the fire department’s hazardous materials unit responded.

The lab and several nearby businesses were evacuated as a precaution and streets in the area were closed down.

The Saskatoon Fire Department disposed of the chemical in a vacant field by 60th Street and Faithfull Avenue around 9 p.m.