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A Hamilton neighborhood was evacuated on Friday morning after a contractor found an apparent pipe bomb.

Hamilton Police Patrol Sergeant Steve Snavely says they were called to 610 North Fifth Street just before 10:00 a.m.

Snavely says the contractor found the device in a storage shed separate from the home. The contractor removed the device and put it in his van until police arrived.

The Missoula Bomb Squad and the National Institute of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratories bomb-sniffing dog were called to assess the situation.

The device is now in Missoula where the bomb squad will x-ray it. Results are expected early next week.

The homeowner was questioned but is not a suspect, and told authorities that friends use the storage shed.

The friends told Hamilton police they made the device two years ago by connecting five mortars together to create a loud firework; they said they forgot the device was in the shed.