Local

Bomb squad, firefighters swarm Queen Anne apartments for explosion that severed man’s hand

SEATTLE — A bomb squad, hazmat team, police, and firefighters swarmed an apartment building in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood after an explosion there on Wednesday.

Authorities confirmed to KIRO 7 that the explosion was caused by fireworks inside an apartment. The blast severed a man’s hand.

At about 9:37 a.m., firefighters and police were dispatched to the 100 block of First Avenue North near Denny Way for a report of a fire at an apartment building. Emergency dispatchers received additional 911 calls from people inside the building who said they heard an explosion in a basement unit.

Firefighters arrived and found a 36-year-old man with an injured hand who was taken to Harborview Medical Center in serious, but non-life-threatening, condition.

According to police, the man said he was handling a firework in his home when it exploded in his hand.

No active fire was found at the scene, according to Seattle Fire.

A witness who spoke to KIRO 7 said he was the injured man’s roommate and was sleeping when he was suddenly jolted awake by an unfamiliar sound.

He said he found his injured roommate in a terrifying state and had to help him until firefighters arrived.

“I removed myself from the building — a bomb went off or an explosive — just something very loud or unnatural and unnormal, realizing it was in a unit or in or around mine, I removed myself from the building,” the man said.

As a precaution, the building was evacuated and hazmat crews responded. By about 9:50 a.m., a bomb squad was seen at the building, where a sign said Arkona Apartments. Detectives did not find any other volatile material.

The Seattle Fire Department made a one-block perimeter around the building. Only members of fire and law enforcement were allowed in the area as a safety measure.

By 11:40 a.m., Seattle Fire said it was reducing its response to a few units and the scene was being transferred to the Seattle Police Department.