A Bowling Green man working to get his pyrotechnics license reportedly blew up a blender outside his garage on Friday evening.
BG Police were initially called by a neighbor in the 200 block of Leroy Street about an explosion on Friday (Oct. 27) around 7:40 p.m. Officers were unable to find evidence of an explosion, but the next morning the neighbor reported that a Nest cam had caught footage of the explosion.
Police found broken plastic pieces near a garage in the 200 block of East Reed Street.
Officers went to the home and were told a man living at the address had been making explosives the night before and one blew up.
The man told police he had passed his online classes and online test for a pyrotechnics license, but hadn’t taken the final written exam due to the cost.
The man led police to a detached garage, where he said he makes compounds. He reportedly opened a wooden crate which contained 18 bags of different powered chemicals. Police also reported several small tubular objects with wicks coming out of them, sitting on a shelf. The man told police those were fireworks he made with the same compound he was mixing the night before.
The man reportedly told police he was mixing powdered chemicals to make the explosive compound in his blender, as he always does. He stated he ran out of the standard aluminum powder, so he used a mixture of aluminum and magnesium. He reportedly placed the blender and a long extension cord in the driveway near the rear alley of the residence. When he plugged in the blender, it immediately exploded, creating a loud boom, he told police.
Toledo Bomb Squad was called to the scene, and X-rayed the explosives. The squad found them to be normal ingredients of fireworks, with no nails or projectiles.
The explosives and chemicals were seized, and police advised the man he would likely be charged due to the seriousness of the explosion.
