MILLINOCKET — Police in Millinocket say they don’t know why the town’s late police chief had a realistic looking fake bomb in his home.

The device was found by the new owners of the home, which had remained empty for several years, when they were moving in on Saturday. They called Millinocket police who in turn called the Maine State Police bomb squad.

The neighborhood was evacuated for four hours.

The house had been owned by Millinocket Police Chief Wayne Scarano, who died in 2007.

Millinocket officer Martin Legassey tells the Bangor Daily News the device had seven sticks of what appeared to be dynamite, a timer or clock, an alarm and wiring.

The Maine Fire Marshal’s office now has the device.