Two Dead as Fireworks Cause Massive CA Explosion
By Richard Winton, Faith E. Pinho and Lila Seidman
Source Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — Two people died after a massive explosion set off by fireworks at an Ontario house rocked a residential neighborhood Tuesday, prompting a large response from firefighters and law enforcement.
Ontario Fire Department Chief Ray Gayk said at a media briefing that commercial-grade fireworks set off the fire at a roughly 1-acre residential lot near West Francis Street and Fern Avenue. The Ontario Fire Bomb Squad is clearing the area, and several agencies, including the FBI, are investigating the incident.
“They are commercial grade,” Gayk said, “like you would normally see in the fireworks show.”
No details were immediately available about the two deaths.
Gayk said a horse was injured in the explosion. Video from KABC-TV showed a horse, smudged with black soot, trotting around the property after firefighters freed it from one building’s wreckage.
Flying debris shattered windows and toppled televisions in Oscar Martinez’s home at Fern and Francis, a few houses from the site of the blast. Martinez and six other members of his household were uninjured, but the 21-year-old was nevertheless shaken. He said fireworks go off in their neighborhood every few weeks, usually around midnight.
Ontario officials said explosions from the fireworks continued to be heard after the initial blast. A video on social media showed a fiery explosion followed by a large plume of smoke.
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