Feds warn of homemade fireworks following house explosion
LIBERTY, Ohio (WKBN) – Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives say homemade fireworks are illegal.
'From our perspective, that's highly dangerous,' said Bill Halusek, with ATFFE.
Halusek is with the ATF office in Cincinnati. He says scenes like the one from Saturday in Liberty, where a house exploded due to what is believed to have been homemade fireworks, are becoming dangerously more common.
'We've seen an uptick in labs this year. In the last two months, I know of four labs like the one in Youngstown that have eradicated,' Halusek said.
Halusek says the difference between fireworks sold in licensed stores, the display types that we can watch on the 4th of July, and illegal explosives essentially comes down to the amount of flash powder contained in them. He said illegal devices often contain too much of the powder and are extremely volatile.
'It can detonate very easily. Static electricity from a finger touch could do it,' Halusek said.
ATF agents were on the scene of the Liberty home explosion over the weekend to help search for evidence, and the incident is being actively investigated.
Halusek stresses consumers can never fully trust devices that don't come through a licensed dealer.
'You never know what you're going to get when you're buying from someone who manufactured it themself,' he said.
The sale of display fireworks is heavily regulated by both the federal government and the state, but Halusek admits they can occasionally turn up on the black market.
'If folks were to see those types of display fireworks, avoid them. Contact your local law enforcement to come get them,' he said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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