Explosion Injures Five in Boston, Blows Off Hands

Sept. 20--A man may have been experimenting with fireworks when an explosion rocked a Readville neighborhood this morning, damaging an apartment building and injuring five, including blowing off a person's hands, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the blast at the four-story apartment building at 9:30 a.m. at 19 Riley Road and police, including the bomb squad, are now at the address, which is regarded as a hazmat scene, officials said.

Investigators now believe a man "may have been making fireworks" inside the unit when the explosion happened, Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis said.

The man was mixing chemicals in the basement before the explosion, Davis said. "He lost one or both hands."

Davis said before the man was taken to the hospital, he told police "he was experimenting."

Members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force arrived about 11:30 and were seen walking into the apartment.

"There's no connection to drugs at this time," Davis said. He added: "There's no connection to terrorism."

Meanwhile, firefighters set up their mobile decontamination truck behind Riley Road to hose down first-responders who may have been exposed to dangerous chemicals.

Davis said police were checking all their databases to determine who the person was and what he may have been doing in the apartment.

"We'll be going through everything, not just the chemicals in the room, but all of the evidence as we execute a search warrant," Davis said

The explosion happened in a basement unit, police said.

Three others were treated at the scene for injuries and the man's roommate was hospitalized with respiratory problems not related to the explosion, Davis said.

"I was on my deck and there was a loud bang," said Lindsey Bell who lives in the building beside the site of the explosion. "It sounded like a car crash. Then I saw the firetrucks pull in. ... I saw them taking him out on a stretcher. He had no hands. They were bloody stumps and they were wrapping them with bandages."

The area around the apartment building was locked down as police, fire and EMTs swarmed the apartment complex on Riley Road.

The building where the explosion occurred is one of a few identical four-story, multi-unit apartment buildings.

"We put the fire out and now it is a crime scene," Boston Fire Commissioner Roderick Fraser said.

Davis said the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

It was unknown how many people were in the home and what the condition is of the injured person.

Story developing ...

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