Smoking Package Triggers a False Alarm at Post Office

For a while Tuesday morning, it looked as though a mail bomb had been received by a Beverly Hills post office.

Police and firemen closed a half block at 3rd and Maple streets after a parcel in the post office began emitting smoke and a sulfurous smell.

Two and a half hours later they decided the package was harmless. It contained matches that, according to a police officer, were destined for Iran, where they are in short supply.

Postal officials said the matches rubbed together in the package and ignited.

While the Sheriff Department’s bomb squad cautiously examined the 12-by-6-inch package, telephone calls to the sender and the addressee of the package established that the contents, including the matches, were from Fresno and destined for Iran.