A gargantuan fireworks detonation likely caused by someone smoking a cigarette obliterated several homes and injured five people in an island community in Washington state this week, according to authorities.
Wild Ring camera footage shows the exact moment the house storing the pyrotechnics was decimated by a giant fireball, sending plumes of smoke billowing into neighbors’ yards.
A second home caught fire and burnt down, and a third was seriously damaged in the blast.
Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue Chief Jerry Helm told FOX 13 that the fireworks are “kind of like a little ticking time bomb you’re not sure when they’re going to go off.”
Helm said that the fire was most likely caused by someone in the home smoking too close to the firework stash, accidentally dropping ash onto pyrotechnics.
Tanya Hernandez-Garzon, who lives next to the home that exploded, told the local news outlet that the fireworks were “exploding and shooting everywhere.”
“It’s sad to see somebody so immature that they don’t think of other people and to see how much damage is done is really heartbreaking,” she continued.
Her concerns centered on her five dogs and her pet bird.
“Our main concern was to get the dogs out of the house,” she said.
“Everything else is replaceable, but not my animals,” she said.
Three firefighters were among the injured. Two of them were discharged from the hospital and are expected to recover, while the third is being treated for his injures.
Two civilians went to the hospital before they could be evaluated by first responders, according to FOX13.
The Island County Sheriff’s Office said that it will determine after the investigation whether criminal charges are warranted.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is also investigating the incident.
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