According to the Seattle Police Department, an explosion occurred on Wednesday morning. An apartment building in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood drew the attention of the bomb squad, the hazmat team, the police, and the firemen.
The detonation was in the basement, and everyone was evacuated. There was no evidence of an ongoing fire. Also, a group trained to deal with hazardous materials was called to the scene.
Authorities stated that the explosion was the result of pyrotechnics that were smuggled into the home. The blast was so powerful it severed the hand of the victim.
At 9:37 a.m., firemen and police were dispatched to the 100 block of First Avenue North, near Denny Way, where a report of a burning apartment building had been received. Dispatchers also received calls from tenants who said they heard an explosion from a basement apartment.
Firefighters arrived and found a 36-year-old man who had injured his hand. The man’s condition was not considered life-threatening when he was taken to Harborview Medical Center.
A firework the man was holding exploded in his hand while he was at home, he told authorities.
The investigation by Seattle Fire concluded that there was no active fire nearby.
A victim’s roommate said he had been sleeping when he was startled awake by a noise like “nothing he had ever heard before.”
His injured roommate was in a horrible state when he found him, and he attended to his wounds until the firefighters arrived.
The building was evacuated, and hazmat crews were called out of caution. At 9:50 in the morning, a bomb disposal team was seen outside the building marked “Arkona Apartments.” The investigators found no further combustibles.
The Seattle Fire Department set up a one-block perimeter around the structure. Only members of the police force and the fire department were allowed inside the area out of an abundance of caution.
The Seattle Fire Department stated at 11:40 a.m. that it was reducing its response to a handful of units and turning command over to the Seattle Police Department.
