Chemicals in Boston Home Blast Consistent with Making Fireworks: Report

The victim, who has yet to be identified, has lost both of his hands due to the accident

The chemical mixture that sparked an explosion in a Boston basement apartment Friday morning that cost a man both his hands was consistent with the chemicals used to make fireworks, a law enforcement source told NECN.
 
Investigators were on the scene of the blast late Friday afternoon and were testing the air, after finding a number of chemicals in the Hyde Park home. The explosion just after 9 a.m. had blown out the window of the basement apartment, sparked a fire and filled the entire building with smoke.
 
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said in a press conference Friday morning that the blast had blown the hands off of the man who had mixed the chemicals. He told police he had been "experimenting" when the explosion occurred.
 
"The victim was spoken to before he went to the hospital and he told us he was experimenting. That’s all we have at this point in time," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said. "It’s too early to say exactly what his motivations were or what he was trying to build or put together inside that apartment."
 
Along with the man mixing chemicals, seven other people were transported to area hospitals, police said. The man's roommate was treated for respiratory problems but otherwise appeared unharmed, they said.
 
Davis said the blast been caused by "unknown chemicals" and was not believed to be connected to drugs or terrorism.
 
Davis said there are a "significant number" of containers of unknown chemicals in the apartment and police are currently going through the victim's computer and other files to find out more information.
 
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