LAPD bomb squad truck explodes during fireworks detonation, injuring 17

[Elderberry]

New York Post by Kenneth Garger 7/1/2021

Over a dozen people were hurt when an LAPD bomb squad truck was blown to smithereens during a planned detonation of illegal fireworks Wednesday night.

The enormous blast came after authorities confiscated over 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks from a South Los Angeles home. One person was arrested, according to CBSLA and the LAPD.

In addition to the injuries, the explosion wrecked nearby cars and damaged homes.

More: https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/lapd-bomb-squad-truck-explodes-during-firework-detonation-event/

[rustynail]

Blowed up real good!!

[PeteS in CA]

Bomb squad? Or ?

[GtHawk]

Bomb squad? Or ?

I was watching a reporterette that pretty much reamed the bomb squad for not having an idea, obviously, of how dangerous what he had was and for not removing the truck from residents and homes before detonating the fireworks.

[PeteS in CA]

I was watching a reporterette that pretty much reamed the bomb squad for not having an idea, obviously, of how dangerous what he had was and for not removing the truck from residents and homes before detonating the fireworks.

There may be much I don't understand about the particulars, but it sounds like the squad underestimated what they were dealing with and consequently used insufficiently durable equipment and failed to appropriately protect people and property around them.

[catfish1957]

Seems just ruining the fireworks with some water was out of the question huh? 

I'd wager there must have been a gung ho bomb squad guy wanting a little fun. Go Boom.

[rustynail]

The ongoing Climate Disaster supercharged the fireworks and made them unstable.

[PeteS in CA]

https://twitter.com/ConwayShow/status/1410434391000555520

~2 tons of explosives? The containment seems to have been what-were-they-thinking-grade inadequate!

Yes, Tim Conway Jr. is the son of that Tim Conway.

[240B]

This reads like a joke.
They grabbed 2.5 tons of explosives and decided to detonate it, in a truck, next to residents and parked cars.
I am not an explosives 'expert' like they are supposed to be, but even as an amature I would never attempt this.
Reminds me of a 'reveal' party gone wrong.

And now the LAPD is going to charge the owner of the fireworks with injuries from their own retarded stupidity.
"I didn't tell them to ignite it! I'm not that stupid."

[txradioguy]

Seems just ruining the fireworks with some water was out of the question huh? 

I'd wager there must have been a gung ho bomb squad guy wanting a little fun. Go Boom.

I think they were expecting the containment chamber to hold the blast.  Either they had too much fireworks crammed in there for what the chamber was designed to withstand...or those illegal fireworks were loaded with a crap ton of black powder.

[Elderberry]

I think they were expecting the containment chamber to hold the blast.  Either they had too much fireworks crammed in there for what the chamber was designed to withstand...or those illegal fireworks were loaded with a crap ton of black powder.

It was more likely that in 2.5 tons of fireworks, there was easily more than enough flash powder for it to go high order. Black powder has only been known to go high order under a couple of very unique test cases.

[txradioguy]

Makes sense.

Did you see the size of the "fireworks" they confiscated?

[PeteS in CA]

LAPD investigates why $1 million truck couldn’t contain fireworks explosion that injured 17

https://archive.vn/rRv5n#selection-1191.4-1191.95

Federal authorities and Los Angeles police continued investigating on Thursday, July 1, why a specially outfitted truck failed to handle a planned detonation of seized explosives the night before in South Los Angeles – with a blast instead rocking the neighborhood and leaving 17 people injured and several buildings and vehicles damaged.

A National Response Team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was set to arrive Thursday, July 1, to assist with the investigation.

The blast, around 7:35 p.m. on 27th Street just east of San Pedro Street, severely damaged the Los Angeles Police Department’s containment vehicle – a truck with an iron chamber designed to safely detonate up to 15 pounds of total charges, officials said.

My WAG is that the bomb disposal people badly under-estimated the explosive content of the fireworks.

[Smokin Joe]

I think they were expecting the containment chamber to hold the blast.  Either they had too much fireworks crammed in there for what the chamber was designed to withstand...or those illegal fireworks were loaded with a crap ton of black powder.

One of the most popular fireworks in this area is the mortar shell. Lifting charge and then the dispersal/display charge as a payload. The bigger the mortar, the more spectacular the display, but those lifting charges are nothing to screw with. If there were say a ton of those in the batch, the 'planed detonation' should have been done in a hole in a gravel pit from a distance, not on a city street.

I'm no EOD guy, just a li'l bit country bumpkin that likes the occasional fun loud noise, but I think they grossly underestimated the power of what they had on board.

Just hitting it all with a fire hose would have been much smarter than what they did, even if a soggy mess isn't newsworthy.

[Smokin Joe]

LAPD investigates why $1 million truck couldn’t contain fireworks explosion that injured 17

https://archive.vn/rRv5n#selection-1191.4-1191.95

My WAG is that the bomb disposal people badly under-estimated the explosive content of the fireworks.

A containment chamber designed to safely detonate up to FIFTEEN pounds, and they stuffed it with 2 1/2 TONS?

Oh, what could possibly go wrong?

They turned the containment chamber into a bomb casing.

[GtHawk]

A containment chamber designed to safely detonate up to FIFTEEN pounds, and they stuffed it with 2 1/2 TONS?

Oh, what could possibly go wrong?

They turned the containment chamber into a bomb casing.

Sounds like someone on the bomb squad had a hold my beer moment.

[PeteS in CA]

Chief: Bomb squad caused Los Angeles fireworks explosion

https://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/nation-world/article252883478.html

Los Angeles bomb technicians overloaded a containment chamber with homemade fireworks last month during a detonation, likely causing a catastrophic explosion that injured 17 people and rocked a neighborhood, the police chief said Monday.

Chief Michel Moore said five members of the department’s bomb squad have been removed from field duties as the investigation continues. They could face discipline.

The explosion — which damaged dozens of homes, businesses and vehicles just days before July Fourth — was highly unusual, officials say, because such containment chambers are designed to withhold blasts. The bomb technicians overloaded it above the safety rating, however, even as authorities are investigating if the detonation device had a defect.

Confirmed         sighting! Who trained that bunch of ?! Al Qaeda?!

[Wingnut]

I read one excuse that said the "under estimated the total weight of all the fireworks". 

I guess  saying "Overloaded" sounds better than "Our dumbasses couldn't read a scale and add correctly"

[Elderberry]

ATF Sends National Response Team to Investigate Fireworks Blast That Injured 17 in South LA Neighborhood

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/photos-illegal-fireworks-explosion-south-la-lapd-bomb-squad/2628951/

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is sending a National Response Team to investigate the fireworks blast that injured 17 people, including 10 law enforcement officers, when a bomb squad attempted to safely detonate illegal explosives Wednesday that were seized in a South Los Angeles neighborhood.

Members of the ATF's National Response Team are flying in from all over the country. They'll have a briefing with police and fire Thursday night, then begin their post blast analysis Friday morning.

"I can't speak for the entire nation, but I've been with ATF for 10 years and I've never seen it happen before," said Ginger Colburn, an ATF spokeswoman.

"The amount of explosive in that truck was well below what is allowed or permitted," said LAPD Lt. Raul Jovel. "You put a destructive device inside a closed container where it’s pressurized, when it blows up that is a big punch."

Police working off an anonymous tip had discovered an estimated 5,000-pound stash of commercial-grade fireworks around 8:40 a.m. that morning. They later found a set of smaller, improvised explosives with simple fuses, which they evaluated to be less stable.

Authorities spent much of the day transporting the fireworks away from the site. Following protocol, police said, the bomb squad opted to detonate less than 10 pounds of the improvised explosive within the armored vehicle, which is rated to safely contain more material than that.

The force of the explosion instead destroyed the container and caused damage to several cars parked on the street.

"You saw the resulting damage, and the total catastrophic failure of that containment vehicle," LAPD Chief Michel Moore said Wednesday night. "Something happened in that containment vehicle that should not have happened, and we don't know why. We intend to find out why."

If they had the Largest NABCO Model 64-GT-SCS  TCV. It has a limit of 8.8 kg of TNT.    That 10 lbs of improvised explosives must have been much more brisant than TNT.

[PeteS in CA]

That NBC Los Angeles article is date-stamped "By Staff Reports • Published June 30, 2021 • Updated on July 1, 2021 at 6:59 pm". The AP article from the Merced Sun-Star is dated July 20.