Homemade Fireworks Backfire 
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http://sptimes.com/2002/07/05/news_pf/Hillsborough/Homemade_fireworks_pu.shtml
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
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Balloons filled with acetylene gas explode, injuring two friends and destroying a car.
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:
Anonymous
Reference:
St Petersburg Times - 7/5/02
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