'Severely Injured' NM Firefighters Still Hospitalized

June 7, 2019
Veteran Roswell firefighters Jeff Stroble, 46, and Robert “Hoby” Bonham, 36, remain in critical condition after an accidental fireworks explosion Wednesday.

ROSWELL, N.M.—Authorities say it was two veteran members of the Roswell Fire Department who were “severely injured” in an accidental fireworks explosion Wednesday.

Jeff Stroble, 46, and Robert “Hoby” Bonham, 36, were among 12 Roswell firefighters working to prepare fireworks for the City of Roswell’s Fourth of July show when the explosion happened around 12:10 p.m., the department said in an update Thursday.

“Stroble, a fire apparatus operator with 17 years of service with RFD, and Bonham, a firefighter with 18 years of service with RFD, were flown to the Lubbock hospital following the incident at the site on the west side of the Roswell International Air Center property at the south end of Roswell,” the Roswell Fire Department said.

The agency said the two remained in critical condition Thursday morning.

The 10 other firefighters “suffered varying levels of injuries, but all were classified as minor.” They were examined at a local hospital and released.

New Mexico State Police is investigating the explosion.

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©2019 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)

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