VIDEO: Just over a week before the Fourth of July, a house in Whidbey Island’s Lagoon Point neighborhood near Greenbank exploded Wednesday afternoon when a cigarette is believed to have ignited approximately 700 pounds of fireworks stored inside. The blast occurred just before 4 p.m. The ensuing fire destroyed a neighboring home and damaged a third. Debris was found hundreds of feet away, and the explosions continued for hours.
“It was like a war zone at first,” said neighbor Tom Selvidge. “Windows shook. A couple pictures came off the wall inside,” added Chris Tincher. “My wife thought it was an earthquake.” Three firefighters were injured. The most seriously hurt was a firefighter who was 20 feet from one of the blasts while trying to hook a hose to a hydrant. He may lose a finger.
“If the guys had been standing in a spot a second later or a second earlier, we probably would have all three of them down at Harborview right now,” Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue Chief Jerry Helm said. Neighbor Tanya Hernandez’s home was damaged but still standing.
KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle
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