Darwin came up just short

[RockChalk]

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/29...le-trying.html

A man is believed to have blown off his hand when a homemade firework exploded while he and another man were trying to make a stronger one.

The explosion happened about 10:50 p.m. Monday in the 3100 block of Southeast Third Street in Blue Springs. Police had received a report saying that several people were injured.

When Blue Springs police and firefighters from the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District arrived at the scene, they found a 21-year-old man with extreme injuries to his left hand and arm. He also injured his right eye.

Another 21-year-old man was also injured along with a woman who was in the home at the time.

The explosion occurred while the two men were attempting to make an improvised explosive device by wrapping multiple sparklers together with electrical tape. The device unexpectedly detonated causing the injuries, police said.

The explosion extensively damaged the interior of the home, causing one of the exterior walls to be pushed off its foundation approximately three inches, according to police.

The kitchen was severely damaged too. The explosion pushed the ceiling upward knocking all the ceiling lights out of their supports and all of the kitchen cabinets doors from their frames.

The two men were taken to a hospital for treatment of their injuries. The woman’s injuries were only to her hearing.

Police are investigating the matter and charges are pending.

“It is against the law to create an improvised explosive device,” said Detective Troy Pharr, a police spokesman.

This is the second fireworks explosion in the Kansas City area in just as many days.

Three people were injured — one critically — after they tried to assemble a massive firework at a Raytown home late Saturday night.

The three had purchased consumer-grade fireworks and disassembled them inside a bedroom to create a more substantial firework, according to Raytown Fire Battalion Chief Mike Hunley.

The explosion happened about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in the 7200 block of Ash Street.

The explosion blew out the bedroom windows, cracked the ceiling and blew the door of the hinges.

A woman was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. She suffered severe burns and was placed in a medically induced coma. A second person was treated for injuries and released. A third person refused medical treatment.

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