Illegal firework production caused Raytown duplex blast that killed 1, ATF believes
Investigators believe a Raytown duplex exploded and caught fire Monday evening, leaving a man dead and others injured, as a result of the man producing illegal fireworks in a basement.
John Ham, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Kansas City division, said investigators made that determination Tuesday after they knocked down walls and entered the duplex, half of which was reduced to rubble.
“Unfortunately we’ve seen this before in Kansas City way too many times,” Ham told reporters.
Investigators believe the man living at the home was manufacturing fireworks in his basement.
When the duplex exploded, five people were in the building — with two adults and two children on one side of it. One of the children was treated for injuries at a hospital and one adult underwent surgery Tuesday, officials said.
The explosion, reported before 7 p.m. Monday, left several people injured at the duplex in the 7500 block of Englewood Avenue.
Earlier Tuesday, investigators found the man’s body in the basement area of the duplex. It will soon be removed and taken to the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s Office for identification.
“It’s gone from a sad event to a tragic event,” Ham said.
Ham encouraged residents to celebrated July 4 safely, but said they should buy fireworks from licensed vendors. Fireworks are “unstable by nature,” he said, and noted that explosions can result from people mixing chemicals themselves.
“It’s a timely reminder that the powders that are in pyrotechnics are unstable and they can absolutely do damage,” Ham said. “They can absolutely be lethal if they’re not handled by professionals.”
On Monday, several fire trucks and emergency vehicles, including police and emergency medical personnel, remained on the scene well into nightfall. The dead-end road was cordoned off by police tape. Smoke could be seen well into the distance for more than an hour after crews first arrived.
Neighbors, meanwhile, described a chaotic scene unfolding in the evening hours. Several onlookers gazed from the street as fire trucks slowly backed off the block.
One woman, who lives nearby and asked not to be identified, said she was driving in the area when the explosion went off. She saw roughly two dozen people running and screaming as several loud bangs rang out.
She called her husband a half mile down the road. He also heard a “loud boom,” she said. The woman caught a glimpse of the damage.
“I thought, ‘That house is gone,’” she said.
This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 5:05 PM.
