Homemade Fireworks 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
Homemade fireworks put 2 men in
hospital
Balloons filled with acetylene gas
explode, injuring two friends and
destroying a car.
By TAMARA LUSH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 5, 2002
TAMPA -- Josh Edleman and James Suchomski
wanted to celebrate July Fourth with a blast.
They did -- and ended up in the hospital.
Outside of Suchomski's home at 4005 W
Wyoming Ave., the pair put acetylene gas,
normally used in welder's tanks, into party
balloons.
They put the gas into about 10 balloons, Tampa
police said, then loaded them in the back of
Suchomski's 1990 Honda.
"He was trying to make his own fireworks," said
Suchomski's mother, Bonnie Suchomski.
The gas creates a loud noise when ignited, said
Tampa police bomb technician Robert Nicholson,
which is why the homemade devices are popular
on New Year's Eve and the Fourth of July.
But when Suchomski and Edleman climbed into
the car and closed the doors, they created static
electricity.
The balloons exploded. The two men were blown
out of the car. The Honda was destroyed.
"It looked like a sardine can," said Nicholson. "It
was as if you just took the roof and peeled it off."
The dash was blown to bits, and the windshield
was blown over the house and into the back yard.
In addition to the TPD Bomb Squad, the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement, the Fire
Marshal's Office and the FBI were called to the
scene.
Suchomski, 25, and Edleman, 26, of 5709
Interbay Blvd. were transported to Tampa
General Hospital. They were in fair condition
Thursday night, hospital officials said.
Bonnie Suchomski, who said she was in the house
when she heard the "big bang" about 5:15 p.m.,
said her son suffered "flash burns." Police said the
men also had ear damage and bruises.
"He's learned his lesson," Bonnie Suchomski said. Submitted on 07/05/2002
Submitted by:
Mike Henry
Reference:
St. Pete Times/ 7/5/02
Copyright © 2002 DarwinAwards.com
|
