Today, just before noon officers responded along with Seattle Fire Department to reports of an explosion with injuries at a residence in the 2220 block of N. 106th St.
Two juvenile males sustained fragmentation wounds and were transported to Harbor view Medical Center by SFD aid car. The explosion broke out windows in the living room and kitchen, blew open the back door and propelled some debris out into the back yard.
The father of one of the boys, who is also the uncle to the other, was present in the house when the explosion occurred but was in another room asleep at the time. He remained at the scene and was interviewed. He said his son had been working on a school science project involving model rocketry. He said the boys were apparently trying to start a fire in the fireplace and may have used some of the rocket fuel they had mixed up as a means of getting the fire going, or they were testing the mixture.
ABS responded. The preliminary scene investigation showed that the living room was being used as a workshop. There were several completed homemade fireworks bottle rockets, small aerial display mortars, and a skyrocket found.
There was a supply of items to build many more, including assorted chemical powders for mixing up pyrotechnic powders. The completed items were seized for destruction.
Detectives believe that nothing more than the described items was being constructed.