Woman Lights Candle Left Behind By Renters, Learns It's Dynamite After It Blows in Hand
The next time you have something to celebrate, here’s a tip: Make sure the “decoration” you’re lighting isn’t actually a powerful explosive.
That’s what one woman in Connecticut tragically learned this week after an item she believed was a candle turned out to be something very different.
It was dynamite.
According to WVIT News, the woman’s power was out at her Bridgeport home during a thunderstorm on Thursday night. While her spouse and two children were also there, she reportedly tried to light what turned out to be the explosive.
“Police have investigated and said the family had intended to buy emergency lighting from Home Depot, but the store was closed, according to police,” reported WVIT.
“Then, they remembered seeing something in the basement that they thought were candles,” the news station continued.
It probably would have been a good idea to check before lighting it on fire, but they apparently didn’t consider it could have been anything dangerous.
“The family bought the home two years ago and the previous residents or owners had left them behind,” said WVIT.
As you might expect, it didn’t end well.
Police said that the woman, who has not been identified, was taken to the hospital with “extreme injuries” to at least one of her hands. In addition to likely losing fingers, she also suffered facial injuries from the blast.
“State police, the state fire marshal, the state police bomb squad, Bridgeport police officers and firefighters and the staff from the city fire marshal’s office responded and evacuated houses on either side of the victim’s house as a precaution,” stated WVIT News.
There was a major police response at the house as investigators scrambled to determine what had happened.
A fire marshal, the state police bomb squad, and other state police units all arrived on scene.
“While it is against the law to buy dynamite or fireworks or firecrackers in Connecticut, Bridgeport police will not be pressing any charges because it appears that the residents did not know there were explosive devices in their home,” the news station reported.
Authorities located a second device that may have been dynamite, which was removed and detonated by the bomb squad.
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