Kaboom!!! Rude awakening at 3:00 a.m.

[LeeH]

I was in a deep sleep last night when a noise woke me up. It was windy so I thought something blew over outside. As I'm about to drift back to sleep there was an explosion that shook the house, then squealing tires. My wife didn't hear the first noise, but sat straight up for the second.

We keep a couple of cars outside so my first thought was that someone put a fuse in the gas tank of one of them. Yes, it was that loud. I called 911 before venturing outside. I told the dispatcher there was either an explosion or gunshot right outside my house. Her reply... "Which was it, an explosion or gunshot?" Umm. - I don't know yet.

Outside, nothing looked out of place, but there was a strong sulfur smell in the air. Then I noticed our next door neighbors garbage can had been left by the street and had a split in it. In fact it was split on three sides and had an orange sized hole in the bottom. Now this is a serious garbage can - the kind the garbage truck grabs with the arm.

The dispatcher asked if there was any fire. I told her no. She said due to the force needed to rip the can apart she was going to send the fire department. They showed up about 3 minutes after the call. The cops were here in 3 and a half. The cop says this is the third report of such mischief this evening. He says probably just fire crackers. The FD guys correct him and say more like half a stick of dynamite to destroy the can like that. I'm guessing something in between. Any ideas of what has that amount of force?

[biosurfer1]

not that i know or anything, but if you take a piccolo pete (the ones that whistle real loud) and hit it with a hammer in the middle until its realtivly flat, it will cause it to explode after a few seconds, could very easily do that to a garbage can, and they are much easier to get than an m80...

[Joe Bob]

M-80s....gud noise in a sewer....

[RoninLB]

for reference only, a box of m80's going off in a closed sedan trunk will toss the lid maybe 50'

[dafischer]

Originally posted by RoninLB
for reference only, a box of m80's going off in a closed sedan trunk will toss the lid maybe 50'

A gut feeling tells me that this wasn't something you read about.

[Joe Bob]

Gading, ding, ding....here...hold my beer.....

[Jays72T]

Any likely fragments? Might tell you what they used. There are quite a few ways to blow things up.

[dean]

When I was a kid, my friend and I put a quarter stick on a cigarette delay and placed it in a 55 gallon drum trash can at the local park. We strolled a 1/4 mile away and waited. About 5 mins later just as a police cruiser was driving by "boom". Along with The Boom there was a 30 foot mushroom cloud. It was funny as *****. We were dieing of laughter. It was perfect timing. Anyway the fire dept came down. There was no damage to the drum. But there was no cover on it. I still laugh about it 30+ years later. Kids, what a PITA

[ZOA NOM]

Once, when I was a kid, I was playing in a park with some friends, and all of a sudden... WHAM!!!

I've been deaf in one ear ever since. The only thing I remember was that a police car had just gone by and then I was sitting in a fire truck.

[masraum]

Lots of funny fellas round here, but Mike Z really splits my side.

[Hawktel]

Yeah, I use to play with M80's.

Not feeling I was getting enough bang for my buck, I added in Flour. Much stupidity ensued.

[Joeaksa]

One thing not mentioned above is that fireworks are illegal here in AZ due to the fire hazard. They are smuggled in and you see them from time to time but its not like other states.

Just glad that the can was not full of trash when it went up!

Joe A

[ZOA NOM]

Originally posted by mikez
Gading, ding, ding....here...hold my beer.....

Off the chart hilarious! ROFLMFAO!

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
That should keep this from going to OT!

the greatest car in the whole world is being threatened.

S Col is loaded with stores. Residents can get away with buying bigger entertainment at these candy stores.

the only issue I have is with the flex putty stuff. You can shape and paint into many things for privacy or it can be squeezed into a rafter, etc. It's not labeled or discernaible. Now your home has a fire and their's work to do in the "hot" room. The FD get blown up. That's not fair. It happens.

[LeeH]

Originally posted by Jays72T
Any likely fragments? Might tell you what they used. There are quite a few ways to blow things up.

There was nothing but what looked like a brown paper towel and a long skinny balloon. I don't know if these items were left in the can or if they were part of the "device." Cop and firefighters seemed more annoyed than concerned. I felt bad that the firehouse turned out for this, but that was the dispatcher's call.

One of my neighbors came out as the PD and FD were leaving. He said he found a coat hangar and scratch marks at the top of his garage door yesterday. Seems a common way to break into a house is to force the top of the garage door in enough to snag the emergency release with a coat hangar. THAT scares me a lot more than exploding garbage cans. Before I went back to sleep I cut the knob of my emergency pull.

[kycarguy 935]

Nowadays playing with M-80's gets the FBI knocking at your door.

[smstcoach]

I would bet that it was a dry ice bomb. You put dry ice and water in a 2 liter bottle and a few minutes later...BOOM! I know it sounds harmless, but it is quite powerful. When I was in high school, some guy planted one in the frozen food section at a store and blew the whole freezer apart.

[LeeH]

Seems like there would have been plastic bits around - and like I said, there was a heavy sulfur smell right after it went off.

[Steve87-911]

Originally posted by mikez
M-80s....gud noise in a sewer....

Originally posted by RoninLB
for reference only, a box of m80's going off in a closed sedan trunk will toss the lid maybe 50'

Originally posted by mikez
Gading, ding, ding....here...hold my beer.....

LOL! That's some funny sheeeeit.

[Gary Peters]

Originally posted by smstcoach
I would bet that it was a dry ice bomb. You put dry ice and water in a 2 liter bottle and a few minutes later...BOOM! I know it sounds harmless, but it is quite powerful. When I was in high school, some guy planted one in the frozen food section at a store and blew the whole freezer apart.

Ahhh, dry ice bombs. Had alot of fun with them at the shop where I used to work. We generally used 600ml (20oz?) bottles though, more bang for the buck. A 2l lifted/launched a 45 Gallon drum about 2 ft off the floor. The 2l ones were very unpredictable, taking anywhere from 10 seconds to 5+ minutes. The 600ml ones were about 5 seconds from getting the cap on.